I Knew From Day One
by BettyBest2
Summary: A collection of snippets surrounding teenaged Zeldris and Gelda varying from first kisses to that awkward first time, in no particular order. Updates are according to the ideas I come up with.
1. Let's Take The Final Step

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from The Seven Deadly Sins/ Nanatsu No Taizai. They all belong to the wonderful Nakaba Suzuki.

This story, however, belongs to me.

 **My friends all seemed to like this for some reason even though I'd honestly planned on keeping this... _"a hidden gem"._ Anyway, sorry for the strangeness of this.**

* * *

 **-Let's Take The Final Step-**

A warm hand curiously slides along the front of his pants, gripping as if to size him up, and air hisses past his lips, his hips jerking forward without hesitation in response. Blue eyes, calm, narrow and brimmed with desire peers at him as her hand trails along him once more pulling out a similar reaction. He watches her, heat gathering at the back of his neck causing his mind to waver from its usual strict paths to more jagged, instinct driven ones, as her lips full and colored a soft pink begin to curve up just the slightest revealing a hint of two sharp teeth over her bottom lip. He attempts to muffle a groan as her next grip grants him a promise of future relief.

"Zeldris, can I see? How big it is? I've heard they can be big, but I'm not sure in what way." Her soft voice, something he always decided was like a delightful purr in his ears now causes embarrassment to flare in his cheeks melting straight down his neck.

Zeldris looks away from her intent stare, his eyes dark and hazy from her continued touch decides to stay on the blouse she once wore now discarded on to the bed. "Um," a cough or a choke overcomes him and instead he simply nods. Vibrations travel wondrously along his problem trapped in the confines of his pants when her fingers begin the tricky process of undoing the fastenings and his eyes can't help but be drawn back to her, to the vampire that's held his attention for so long.

She appears to have no outward problem with working him free, her hands carefully pressing against his hips, searing like flames against his exposed skin as his jacket was lost somewhere along the way as well when they got it in their minds that tonight would be the tonight. No more waiting. No longer holding back. And he watches her, Gelda, as she perches forward, chest bare with a few bruising bite marks from when he got a bit excited, hair a bit messy from its usual neat order and feels his pulse run all throughout him like a cry for more that builds and builds until he physically can't take the pain–

She gasps, knocking him from the whirlpool of need he was falling into and alerting him to the flash of cool air burning against his arousal now curved proudly into the air.

His eyes practically fling to her face gauging her reaction for any signs of disapproval, already weaving out a million and one explanations for this or that when her voice flows out, "It's.. _Wow_ … And it looks so… _angry_ , like you." Her eyes meet his again, this time darker, filled with flecks of flirty mischief and Zeldris swallows thickly at the same time finding his chest rising much faster at her clear approval.

She doesn't stop there.

Gelda tentatively wraps a hand around him and he feels the smooth texture of the palm of her hand like a sensation that pegs from his neck all the way down low in his stomach making his jaw go slack. Then she leans forward a lock of her hair falling in front of her face as she coos in a silky tone, her eyes only on what she holds captive in her hand, "What's the matter? Do you wish to cut through me, too?"

His head tilts back as he imagines it, his length sliding effortlessly into her aided by the slickness of her need he helped her produce just like his blade sometimes does to others, covered in the blood of countless souls. Zeldris' hips roll without thought and his throat grates out, " _Fuck_ , you have no idea."

His ears pick up the sound of her chuckle light and smooth. The demon shivers.

The mortifying sound he makes next is something he's less willing to let himself live down when her lips, wonderful and addicting, suction around his tip and begin sucking with an expertise known to her kind. The core of his bones sing with ecstasy and he fights with a strength he's been building for years to not fall into and press deeper into the blessing that is her mouth. "G-Gelda… _S-Stop_."

It takes a moment that feels like an eternity and her tongue drags up the the tip in a way that pulls a little satisfied noise from his throat, but she does listen to his protest. Her eyes are sharp, weighing on him with the years she has over him, just from the way she gazes up at him from beneath her lashes. And he feels his hearts leap past their rhythm, still astonished that she found someone as young as he to her liking. Still though she pouts, her face tantalizingly close to his twitching length, "Why did you stop me? I know I can put it in my mouth and we're going to find a way to get it in me too soon. Is that what you're worried about?"

Did she have to bring that up? She must notice it too, the way clear fluid begins to bead at his head and sluggishly slide down his length. Fuck, he needs to show restraint, _control_. But the prospect is too good to imagine. His eyes swivel away only to find the flush of her chest, the swell of her thighs and the v-shape in between them, and his words come out a flustered rush. "You shouldn't do that. You're a Princess."

"And you're a Prince," she counters smoothly, forcing him to focus on her entirely when she pushes into his lap the next moment.

He sucks in a breath, startled when his hands find and grasp the heated cushions of her bottom, holding her in place. Her hands cup his cheeks before her fingers dance around his ears and dig into his hair. Zeldris doesn't think he can find words as he looks into her eyes burning like liquid blue flames into his. "If you want to try that stuff later, that's okay… I'm more than ready to see what it feels like to have you inside of me now, Zeldris."

His stomach pinches with nerves and anticipation so hard all he can do is nod and lean them forward into the bed beneath them. He wants to do this right. He has to. This'll be their first time and he wants her to remember it with a dreamy smile on her face, but… not for the first time his nerves begin to fester and sit beneath his outward edge of calm just waiting to screw him over like with their first kiss…

He blinks down at her, her expression full of encouragement, belief, and the undercurrents of need and he decides: _Bring her pleasure_.

Her breasts come beneath his palms as his lips find her neck, his tongue tasting her skin, and his teeth nibbling her flesh and she sighs, slow, long, and beautiful and his chest begins to loosen. She moves under him, her legs shifting around his waist and her chest pressing up into his hands and a another sound builds within her fueling his urge to satisfy. Zeldris grips the swells of her chest, massaging there as he remembers how they felt under his tongue and the flavor her nipples bore… His fingers pinch the perked nubs, rolling his thumb over them just as she arches, pressing the hot slick of her core against him with a soft cry causing his fingers to tighten reflexively.

She cries out for a different reason.

The sound jolts him from the rhythm he was settling into as he pulls back, letting go.

"Just a little too tight." She informs him with a patient smile that does nothing to diminish the flush of humiliation in his face.

"Uh… Sorry." Something urges him to draw back, but she wraps her arms around him, keeping him right in place.

She kisses him, quickly with a little laugh that draws her lips up and it becomes easier for him to relax against her. "Don't worry. I don't know much about this either… Just keep going."

Her lips soft, caring, and at the corner of his mouth are all he needs to brush off his folly and hope he doesn't make another. His hands move fully from the offended area and settle then on her hips, feeling the round curves with a notable spark that bounces beneath his fingertips. She's always been so smooth, so unblemished, like a treasure tucked away, meant to be hidden from him.

Gelda's fingers clench into his back and her rushed breathing sounds right next to his ear. "Yes, l-like that…. _Don't stop_."

And he doesn't halt the natural way his hips find a home between her legs or the way he ruts against the wet heat he finds there. His mind whirls at how slick she is as he glides against her smooth flesh, taking slow, deep breaths so as to not get overwhelmed too soon, and marvels at the fact that she's getting wetter still. Her body's twitching under him as her nails scratch along his back and she opens her legs wider as she whimpers as if begging him to make the final move.

Zeldris' hands spasm on her hips as he pauses. She wants this, they want this, so why prolong it? His lips find her cheek, then his nose settles against the side of her hair. And with his next breath he shakily aligns his hips and presses onward.

The sheer magnitude of pleasure that begins to consume him with each inch she takes is immeasurable, so much so that he feels the muscles throughout his body thrum. He just wants to sink into her, bury himself until he can't see straight and his mind's too blown to think past going deeper, _harder_ … He goes by strict rules near constantly. This is his only chance _to_ –

Gelda makes a tiny pained hum it's like a douse if water splashes over him. He sucks in a breath, barely able to keep himself from falling prey to his need. It only takes one look, but it's enough to see that she isn't enjoying things as much as he. His mouth forms a dismayed grimace. "I'm not doing this right am I?"

He starts to pull away, but her legs curl around his waist keeping him there. Her eyes are firm even if pained as she tells him evenly, "Women wouldn't do this if it didn't feel good at some point. Besides, I can take a bit of pain."

He knows she doesn't mean physical pain. All the same it causes a twinge to work its way throughout his chest. He doesn't move further.

Her hand moves to curl under his chin and their eyes clash. "Just go slower. _Rock_ into me… I want to feel all of you, Zeldris… Will you grant me that?"

Suddenly much hotter and stiffer than before as he groans and gives her a hooded gaze, he responds in an equally low tone, "I'll give you anything you need…"

Her advice is fruitful, allowing him to inch into her bit by bit with the guidance of her sighs and shaky moans until finally, his hips rest against the back of her thighs and their mouths can't seem to break apart for more than a few moments. Blood pounds in his skull like the beat of their passion, making it hard for him to think properly as his hips move back and forth again and again like little slices of heaven. Her fingers on his sides, his back, his chest feel like drops of molten that burn straight to his groin and he groans breathless finding it hard to slip from out of her for too long. Her teeth nibble along his neck and that molten begins to rise in him rapidly, raising sweat along his skin and making his thrusts shakier.

She moans high and long stealing the breath from his lungs as he sees her cool mask crumble into one of desperation with each jostle his thrusts causes her body to make on the bed. Noticing his slack jawed stare she gains a slight smile even as her head rears back into the bed with the next slap of his hips. "I knew you'd… _Ahh_ , you'd fit."

Despite the slippery feel of control that quickly begins to sear inside of him, he laughs, breathless with her bringing his face closer to hers so that their noses brush with the motion of the bodies. Fuck, it feels good, being with her after so long of imagining what it would be like. She's so hot as he pumps into her, so strong as she grips every inch of him. It's… It's like they were meant to press together this way, her beasts smooshed and bouncing between them, she was meant to open up to him, her legs around him like embers slowly burning away his senses as the wet sloppy noises made between them heightens the bliss in him until he–

The pleasure he was relishing in abruptly becomes his enemy.

Zeldris' body trembles as he attempts to slow his thrusts realizing just how little stamina he has, already feeling it at the base of his skull, the shaky feeling just before a feeling so magnificent he'll be relaxed for days. But _Gelda_. He needs to do this for her. Already she's lost in the rising peaks of pleasure his rather unskilled motions bring her. Her eyes are dazed yet fixed on him like he's an addiction she can't lose, and her lips leave feather light touches wherever she can reach, wearing at his resistance, but he tries. His hands grip her hips urgently even as he begins to slip over the edge with harsh breaths, " _Gelda, I-I can't… I_ –"

 _'Damn it, damnitdamnit! Think of something else anything else!'_ But it's damn near futile with the sounds she makes in his ears and the way her body holds tight around him. The coil unravels in him with a snap and fuck it feels good, so fucking good, as he buries his noses into her sweat moistened neck and drills onto her, his vision blurring with the force of his release into her depths. And from the feel of it, she doesn't hold it against him, clinging to him until he begins to slow to a winded stop.

When it's all said and done, Zeldris doesn't grant himself the pleasure relief grants him as bitter self loathing brims within him. This was their first time and he screwed up, proving himself once again to be the failure of a third son to the demon king. _'How could I disappoint her…?'_

Gelda shifts under him and it just makes him want to slink away shamed, until her fingers twirl in the back of his hair in a familiar loving fashion. "That actually felt really good, Zeldris, really good… Don't think of this as a failure, think of it as a chance to work on your mouth skills next," His breath hitches at the feel of her teeth, two sharp fangs in particular, scraping against his neck, "You're all about perfecting your skills aren't you? You're going to fill me up again later, don't worry…"

"… _Fuck_." He's definitely going to perfect his skills. And by then he's going to have her melting in the palm of his hands to his each and every whim.

~.~.~

"How could this still be so good after so many years?"

They had wound up tangled together at the head of the bed after their… was it third round of sex? He presses his knuckles gently against her shoulder blade as she rests against his chest, holding her close. Zeldris merely listens to the sound of her voice as she speaks, memorizing the tones for the umpteenth time as her delicate fingers trace patterns into his chest, a map only she knows. "I mean, you make us so dirty and I'm always too tired afterwards to get cleaned up right after. It's so gross waking up like this, Zeldris. Why do I let you do this to me again?"

A chuckle comes to him deep and pleased as he breathes in her scent, his nose against her hair. "I can clean you, if you want?" He begins to untangle from around her, sliding down her body with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Her mouth opens wide and her cheeks flush before she can form a word. He loves it. "Oh, no you don't! That will only lead to trouble!"

He laughs again, a sound he only lets her hear, and moves back to his place beside her, becoming her pillow once more. "You were the one who brought it up. Besides you can't get enough of me. The reason why it's still so good is because I always give you such mind blowing orgasms." He brings her hand from his chest to his lips and kisses her fingers to hide his prideful smirk.

Only she doesn't seem to take much notice of it as she slips her hand from out of his and instead brushes his bangs out of his face. Her blue eyes gain a soft edge as she peers at him, curling her fingers in his hair as a lock of her own falls in front of her eyes. "You didn't that first time…"

Something inside of him tightens significantly and his face scrunches in a grimace in remembrance.

But she looks so fond, her eyes bright and her smile warm. "You may not have finished me off in the usual way and it may have hurt to begin with, but it felt good after a while and… there's really nothing that can compare to being with you that first time." She gives a dreamy sigh. And as her head moves to rest on his shoulder, her eyes shut with her content smile.

Zeldris has never felt more in love in his life as he watches his wife with tender eyes in that moment, his throat tight with emotion. It's ridiculous how he'd wished for her to think back on that moment so long ago in fond remembrance and somehow she has. She does. This woman makes him light when the world has turned him into a cruel, bloodthirsty, murderer. She's stuck with him through it all. Through all the blood and loss, she still wants to be with him. She chose to become his wife. And she finds it in her heart to love him.

Zeldris sneaks in a slow, lingering kiss that lifts her eyelids revealing sleepy blue orbs. His forehead rests against hers and he murmurs lowly, "I love you, Gelda."

She sighs and nods, her fingers gently brushing against his cheek. "I know… I love you, too."


	2. To Get A Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from The Seven Deadly Sins/ Nanatsu No Taizai. They all belong to the wonderful Nakaba Suzuki.

This story, however, belongs to me.

* * *

 **-To Get A Kiss-**

There are a select few things Zeldris does with his free time. Practicing his swordplay is one of them and advancing in his battle tactic skills is another. One of his latest hobbies however has nothing to do with how sharply he should arc his sword or the best way to surround an enemy squadron.

Zeldris fantasizes about how Princess Gelda's lips would feel against his.

He knows it's a ridiculous time wasting habit, especially when his mind wanders in training with his older brothers and he winds up with a few smarting bruises for clumsy mistakes. But even with a bloody lip or a headache to take home for the day, the idea of what her lips would feel like or even _taste_ like sticks with him stronger than any sense of pain.

"Zeldris?"

The quiet inquiry doesn't snag him from his thoughts nearly as forcibly as the brush of a thumb on the bruise he's sure is swelled proudly upon his cheek. His eyes shift into focus to see blue eyes glued to his cheek, a soft furrow in her brow as she gives the area of his skin another passover with her thumb, gentle and steady. He forgets momentarily how words are formed, she appears so radiant in the moonlight. Her hair is brushed and plaited over her shoulder to perfection and the dress she adorns flows around her gracefully.

His eyes are drawn back to her lips almost instinctively and his throat tightness, constricting his words. "I… Y-yes?"

When she finishes examining his face and a little breathing room forms between them, he's treated to the smooth arch of her eyebrow and the hypnotizing purse of her lips. "Is everything going alright?"

 _'Every… what?'_ His mind begins to draw a blank the longer he continues to gaze intently at her visage, The way her hair curves before her face, the narrow shape of her eyes, the soft curve of her nose, and especially the heart shape of her lips… Certainly they must feel softer than anything he's felt before and their taste better than anything he could imagine? If he could… could _kiss her_ he'd be allowed to taste as much as he'd want and even hold her delicate body in his arms as he did so.

Heat burns beneath his skin, steaming beneath his cheeks at the prospect and a mortified jolt goes through him when he begins to realize the problem forming in his pants.

"Zeldris?" Quiet and questioning.

Zeldris brings his eyes forward to the thinning treeline ahead of them in an effort to brush off the sudden hormones clawing under his skin. She was asking about his training. _Right._ "Everything is going fine. A few beatings toughens you up and shows you your mistakes." Precisely. His mistakes of getting sucked into her allure. Just as he did not seconds ago when he should be making sure no one is sneaking up on them. He is her bodyguard and escort for the evening as she claims her meal after all.

Her fingers curl around his upper arm before her other does the same only lower, and Zeldris stumbles almost imperceptible unlike the gasp he takes when she squeezes her body against the arm she snaked around. Every curve is a dream come true to his suddenly dazed mind and things only seem to reach a more celestial level when she rests her head on his shoulder as if it was meant to slot beside his. "I don't like seeing you hurt, that's all."

Her hair tickles his neck as she nuzzles him and Zeldris is forced to slow them to a stop just outside of the village she chose because his thoughts are much to jittered. "It'll, um, heal before the night is out."

She slowly uncurls from him, unhurriedly releasing him from her influence just as the thudding of his hearts was starting to become too pressing for him to handle. "I suppose you're right… I just hate knowing you're in any kind of pain."

Had he been looking at her he might have caught onto her intentions. The way her eyes glimmered tenderly as she watched his every move and the tell-tell lean of her body towards his would have said it all. But when her lips— _soft, firm, smooth, warm…perfect—_ land against his cheek, bruised, but feeling anything but pain, Zeldris half expects this all to be another dream of his. The vampire he's had an interest in since their royal members visited his father for talks of allying is one he expected to become enraptured by his older brother Estarossa or even Meliodas. But here she is, giving him one of her barely there smiles after just branding his cheek with a kiss.

Does he dare let himself believe that she feels the same and wants to share her first kiss with him?

"Zeldris, I see someone that should do… You'll watch over me, won't you?" Gelda asks a couple paces ahead of him now, her body drifting forward, beautiful, deadly, and seeping temptation.

"Always." The word bursts with absolute certainty and he knows it to be something he'll try to do for the rest of their lives.

~.~.~

He'd perched in a tree to watch her while she worked making sure no one was to interfere and alert the patrolling Holy Knights to the murder about to be taken place. But Gelda was swift in her actions, quick in the way she was able to lure the male into the woods with her. He let her drink until content turned the body to ash for her before taking her back to Edinburgh the way they came.

Now they sit on the edge of one of the castle's towers, shoulder to shoulder, gazing up at the moon. He'd been reluctant to leave so soon after getting her home safely, especially with his mind still drawn to the possibilities. Zeldris can usually pick up on the smallest things, like the storm festering under the perpetual frost of Meliodas' stare or the borderline creepy fascination Estarossa finds in the most bizarre things, but Gelda has been a mystery to him. Or maybe he's just been deluding himself to the facts that have been there all along.

Like now her fingers like drops of sunshine rub patterns against the back of his hand between them and he keeps having to disguise the way his breath abandons him. And how every time he takes a peek to his side at her, her eyes, clear and mesmerizing, are always on him and they seem to gain a shine to them each time she notices him watching.

She likes him. She always has. And that kiss… Maybe he c-can…?

"Is something wrong, Zeldris? Your face is all red and your hand is shaking?"

He should have known the burn under his skin would give him away. Still he tries to remain calm in his response. "I'm fine. Just thinking of something." And tentatively he tries something that causes his nerves to squeeze his stomach tight. His hand beneath hers rotates palm face up.

Gelda smooths her palm against his, even going so far as to weave her fingers with his.

There was no hesitation… None at all. The demon stares at their interlocked hands in quiet awe, missing the soft blush that dusts across her pale skin as she gazes at him under thick lashes.

"Is it something you'd want to talk about with me?" Her tone is feather light in his ears.

"I…" He blinks quickly thoughts stumbling over themselves as he wonders if this is some sort of sign or cue to take things further. _Would he even know how?_ He was unfortunate enough to witness on a few occasions Estarossa kissing on woman or another and it hadn't _seemed_ that hard. You just press your mouths together, right?

He swallows and meets her gaze shakily,and she looks simply exquisite always managing to wipe his mind blank of thought with that soul deep stare of hers. His eyes fall to her lips for the umptenth time and he finds himself stuttering out, "M-maybe…" He stares lasts so long Gelda's eyebrow begins to raise in question. That's when he decides he's being absurd. Second guessing himself only leads to trouble. And yet, as he leans towards her with the crawl of a snail his progression is jerky, telling of his intentions to abandon the idea at any signs of distaste from her.

Her expression gradually opens up in surprise instead and her cheeks color in anticipation.

Hand now clutching hers to at least try and keep himself steady against the smoldering waves of desperation she just created in him, Zeldris surges forward, eager, eyes trained entirely on her tantalizing lips.

" _Ow!_ "

Their foreheads clash.

Zeldris jerks back from her immediately as his eyes, wide and horrified, land on her face. She's covering the offended area with her eyes closed, her expression pinched. His pulse is now jumping in panic as his hands fly forward to cup her cheeks, holding her face exceptionally close to inspect the damage himself. " _Shit!_ I'm sorry…"

 _'Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ _How could I do something so stupid_?' Gelda's hands fall away allowing him to see her forehead which, much to his relief, is perfectly fine. Although he internally worries if he gave her a headache with the force of their collision. One of his hands breaks away to move to her forehead, gently smoothing up and across it with his thumb. He chalks the shiver he feels go through her up to the cool breeze that passes by. "Does it hurt?" He demands low and quiet, hating himself for bringing this upon her over his stupid idea of wanting a kiss.

"Not enough to distract me…" She answers breathless, which normally he wouldn't have missed had his attentions been so focused elsewhere. But as it stands, he completely overlooks the deep flush in her skin right beneath his touch and the dreamy haze her eyes take on from how close in proximity they are, especially their lips which she tries to lean into…

Zeldris sits back then and lets her go feeling much too sick for having caused her even an ounce of pain. His rise to stand is fluid and he makes sure to carefully offer her his hand as he looks down at her. "I guess I should take you in then for the night."

Gelda turns her eyes down, disappointed, before gazing up at him calmly. The same deep adoration she holds for him is hidden in the depths of her eyes as always. Their hands curl around each other's. "Sure."

~.~.~

 _"Clashed!?"_

The deep almost joyous guffaws of his brother, Estarossa, at his expense, if possible, makes Zeldris sink lower in his self loathing.

"Was there blood, little brother? At least give me that."

Zeldris grimaces as he strides towards the array of glasses filled with liquids of many colors, all shining and gleaming temptingly in the late afternoon light. Hell they practically glow, calling him to drown his miseries in them. So, even though he usually doesn't indulge himself, he allows his fingers to trail on a few of the bottles cool outlines, before taking the smallest glass cup he can find and pouring himself something light.

"No. There was no blood, damn it." He grumbles after the sloshing ceases and he can bring the liquid to his mouth. It goes down easy. Good.

The soft winded sound the loveseat gives under Estarossa's weight when he throws himself in it is exactly how Zeldris feels when his brother opens his mouth once more. "And you want my advice on how to kiss so this funny accident doesn't happen again? Is that right?"

The liquid trails down his throat faster and he wonders again why he came to the older? The forever frigid stare of Meliodas comes to mind and he remembers. _Right_. The lesser of two evils. "Yes. Now that you've gotten your laughs will you get to dispensing of the details?"

Estarossa gives him a lazy grin made infinitely more uncomfortable by the overall aura he wears. He's definitely the more mature looking of the three despite being the middle child with his tall hulking figure set and the stubble on his chin. Perhaps that's another reason why Zeldris decided to seek help from him as well…

"Alright, I'll tell you what I know. Although I don't know why seem so eager. Kissing isn't all that interesting if you ask me."

Zeldris pauses in lifting his cup towards his mouth. "What do you mean?" The question is cautious.

Estarossa makes him wait for him to take a drink of his own stronger drink before responding. "Kissing does open up many doors, I'll admit. But the real interesting part is when she opens her legs for you."

Fuck. He knew it. He knew damn well he shouldn't have asked. Now the dam has burst and his brother has gotten started. Zeldris feels heat smother him under his skin, building under his neck and cheeks the most.

"Is that what you really want to know about? You were so damn excited to get a kiss surely you want the vampire in your bed, too?"

No, no, _no_. He halts the stream of images before they can even begin to flow through his head and quickly puts his cup down, _done._ "I'm leaving."

His brother laughs as Zeldris heads for the exit to the chamber, but that doesn't stop the older from giving his last two cents. "I'm sure it won't be long before you're fucking her in every corner of the castle. Teenagers are so horny these days!"

Perhaps he was wrong about Estarossa being the lesser of two evils then.

~.~.~

His back is so straight, so stiff in its erect position he could be taken for someone forever petrified in his still stance. It can't be helped though when standing in the presence of his eldest brother… Trapped in the tiny study of Meliodas' that hardly anyone frequents, but the blond…

Was this really what he was driven to?

The slow, smooth grating sound that fills the room one after the other as the older meticulously sharpens an antique looking sword is frankly chilling to Zeldris. Meliodas looks so focused, so intense, _so quietly ready to kill_ Zeldris feels sweat creep up at the back of his neck. And this is what the older does in his free time to relax?

"You want advice on how to kiss?" The first time Meliodas has spoken since Zeldris was granted entrance five minutes ago and now it sounds incredibly foolish in his ears. He should just go, _just leave!_

 _Chiink! Chiiink! Cchiink!_

 _Get out!_

"Yes." The word came from the unwillingness to back down Meliodas himself beat into him.

Meliodas pauses in his task to look up at him with a face youthful and strong remarkably like his own, except Meliodas' is hardened with years of things Zeldris isn't sure he's ready to experience just yet. Meliodas' lips open again and his voice is cool, yet filled with a painful bite. "If this wasn't our free time, I'd knock your head in for asking me something so goddamn stupid."

 _'I knew it!'_

"As it is," Meliodas looks down once more his wild bangs falling into his face as he picks up where he left off with the sword, "I'll lend you this advice."

Zeldris could drop dead the relief is so strong. "Thank you, brother."

"You know, Estarossa never had to ask me this. He was very… Experimental."

The blow to his ego is instant.

Meliodas gazes at him from under his bangs with a certain gleam to his eyes as he smirks. "But I think he was just afraid of what I'd do if he did. You have guts for asking."

Ego repaired.

Before he can form some kind of response to the hidden praise, Meliodas takes the sword he was sharpening and promptly slashes it through a slab of thick, gleaming steel he'd failed to notice before in his strict focus on the older. A clean chunk falls off and lands with a thud next to others that look less smooth in their cuts.

Zeldris hadn't felt a fluctuation of Meliodas' power at all.

Meliodas gazes at the handcrafted sword in his hand whose blade shimmers in the late sun light streaming in through the sole circular window to his right with an almost pleasured sense of pride. "Good…"

If Zeldris had to guess, the blond would probably lick the thing clean of blood he looks to taken with it. And yet…

Meliodas walks crisply to the wall behind his desk and mounts it in place where, Zeldris failed to notice again, a few others of different designs rest peacefully.

Zeldris raises his eyebrows in confusion. _'What? Why go through all the trouble to sharpen the damn thing to perfection only to end up hanging it in the end?'_

"Are you questioning me?"

The subtle threat in his brother's tone has Zeldris' insides explode in terror. His eyes round and he actually begins to tremble, terrified that he'd said his thoughts allowed when Meliodas turns to face him with piercing eyes.

"That look on your face says you were questioning me."

"N-No, I—!"

Meliodas begins to smile then, a sight only seen every few years. Zeldris should count himself lucky to witness this rare occurrence. "I'm joking. See? I can make jokes."

Zeldris would laugh if he didn't feel so much like he wanted to break down and cry inside. Why are his brothers so damn weird?

"I can smell your fear from over here. It's amazing." The blond laughs a final time before giving a satisfied sigh. Meliodas leans forward, hands flat on his desk, his ray of sunshine gone from overuse as his expression once again frosts over. "Now kissing is simple, Zeldris. So you should listen closely as I explain. I'm only going to tell you this once, understand?"

Zeldris tries not to nod too eagerly. That's how he got into this mess in the first place. "Understood."

"All you have to do is ease in close, don't rush in like a zealous brat. I bet that's what you did?"

Zeldris' face warms, humiliated.

Meliodas continues on, uncaring of picking up on Zeldris' fault as he waves it away. "Once you get your lips together, instinct should take over. You'll either have good instinct or bad instinct. If you have good instinct, your kiss won't be perfect at first, but it won't be bad. However, if it's bad…" Meliodas gains this pure look of disgust. His nose scrunches up and his lip curls as his eyes take on this far away look, "You'll probably latch onto the girl's face and subject her to a kiss akin to the suction and lapping of a dog… I've witnessed it before and even I felt sorry for the poor soul."

Zeldris is sure his discomfort with the situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

Meliodas' eyes slip back to his, cold, dark and decisive. "So you'll either have good instinct or bad instinct. Don't worry you've shown signs of being a worthy soldier. A kiss won't take you down."

Zeldris swallows and offers a grateful nod. "Right. I appreciate the advice."

Meliodas moves to sit in the recliner behind his desk and takes out a wooden figurine reminiscent to a woman with flowing hair and elegant wings that looks entirely whittled from scratch. This is proven to be true when he then takes out an incredibly long knife and begins carving away at it precisely. "No problem…"

Zeldris simply backs out of the room, no longer wishing to push his luck.

~.~.~

"Good instinct or bad instinct? Which will I have?" He paces in clean, brisk strides outside of the thick doors of the castle of Edinburgh, waiting for the Princess. He'd admittedly been avoiding her and the offers to guard her that he'd usually take up without hesitation, but after his flounder before he had needed time to recover and ponder his oldest brother's words. Now he feels like he can face her again without ducking his head down to avoid her mesmerizing eyes.

"Oh, Zeldris! Zeldris, there you are!" The happy chime of Gelda's voice throws him a little off balance.

He has to turn around to see her expression, he's never quite heard her so excited. Only when he does so, her body impacts with his with her arms around his torso and her head presses to the side of his. His hands almost hesitantly rise to encircle her in his astonishment, not nearly having expected her to be so pleased to see him.

She hums, settling deeply in his arms and it occurs to him then that her every curve is pressed into him and just how incredibly soft and warm she actually is. "Zeldris, I'm so happy you came back! I enjoy being with you much more than anyone else." He holds her tighter than before.

"And when those other guards take me out it's not nearly as fun… They don't talk to me. They just treat me with stiff respect."

He pulls back at those words a little flustered with how quickly he let himself get pulled in and mutters out, "I treat you with respect as well."

She gives a tiny smile and swipes up one of his hand almost unwilling to allow their physical contact to end. "Yes, of course, but like I said before, I enjoy your attention much more…"

He bites his lip to fight against the sudden urge to try out a kiss once more right where watchful eyes can see them and instead lets her pull him on a familiar route away from Edinburgh.

~.~.~

Gelda insisted on pulling him to to a hilly field covered in fresh grass and sprouting flowers for as far as you could see after her hunt. He was surprised she knew of the place and figured she found it while he'd been avoiding her and was excited to show it to him. Now though, they sit together in the dead of night with only the wind as company and the cover of stars as witnesses.

His hand is twined with hers and he's hit with a sense of deja vu, only this time he's determined to make sure nothing goes wrong. He's gotten the facts, he's much better prepared this time. And still as he turns towards her to see her gazing at him with a that small smile of hers, he feels the tremors come over him all over again.

She blinks and tilts her head just a bit. "Is something wrong?"

He searches for something to say, a reason for him to get closer… And spots a bright crimson one. His thumb shakily tracks the edge of her mouth where a smear of blood remains. "You have a bit of blood here."

Now her eyes turn away and he watches entranced as her face floods a deep rosy hue. "Oh, I… I'm usually not such a messy eater."

He takes in a deep breath and pulls her chin back up so that her eyes are level with his. He breathes out unsteadily. "It's okay."

 _'Go slowly. Slowly…'_ That's all that runs through his mind as he eases forward, watching nervously as Gelda happily closes her eyes in readiness, entirely trusting of him once more. Zeldris closes his eyes then too, calmed by her confidence.

Only their noses bump sharply just when he started feeling the warm exhales of her breath and she recoils back with a squeak.

" _Damn it."_ Before he can even begin to curl into himself at the second failure, her hand scrambles to clutch his shoulder and her voice speeds out appeasing.

"No, wait! I'm sure we just have to… to tilt our heads, right?"

His eyes fall on her, heavy and disappointed as he sighs, "Why do you keep giving me these chances, Gelda?"

She smiles fully and it's more breathtaking than the quiet beauty of the moon hanging above them. "Because I want to have my first kiss with you. I want to have _many_ kisses with you. I like you, Zeldris. More than like you…"

His hearts quiver in his chest like being touched by the most pleasurable of sensations through her words alone. And he feeds off of that breathless wonder her affection builds in him and finds it in him to snake an arm around her waist while his hand cups the back of her head, pulling a gasp of delight from her. He tries not to think— _thinking gets him in trouble—_ and he simply brings his mouth to hers at a slant while letting his eyes falls shut. And… it's…

 _Magic._

The simple touch of her lips, delicate and plump, meshed against his is wonderful and he forgets how to breathe. It's so foreign having someone else's mouth against his, but as he pulls back with a shallow breath to give to his starving lungs he realizes he wants to do that again and again, as much as he can. Already he's leaning towards her, seeing and delighting in the dazed look in her eyes as he moves his nose to the side of hers. His voice is a bit lower, riddled with roused hormones as he breathes, "Can I do that again?"

She simply nods, her lips brushing his suddenly so intense, tingles dance up his spine and replies breathless, "Yes… Anytime you want."

He kisses her again, tentatively trying out new motions to see if they work and realizing there can be varying ways to form a kiss that will cause heat to take a searing path from the base of your skull and pool low in your belly. That becomes most apparent when Gelda makes a low pleased sound and his desire to taste her draws his tongue across the seam of her lips. And all at once it's like a tiny explosion of sensation goes off in his head, urging him to press for more. He really wants more…

She shivers and pulls away though and shows questioning eyes. But he's too lost in the succulent sample he'd been able to draw from her. _'If that was just a hint, what would it be like to—'_

"Zeldris?"

He blinks for a moment, then spots the red swell of her lips with a growing hunger at the base of his being. He steals a kiss from her open mouthed expression savoring more of the taste he could never have put into words before answering. "Was that okay?"

Her hands grip his shoulders and she noticeably swallows. "Yes, I just… wasn't expecting it. Everything goes here, right?"

He pulls her flush against him adoring the little giggle she gives when her nose bumps his, this time softly, and he tells her, "I'm willing to learn everything with you, if you are?"

Her mouth presses lovingly against the corner of his and she whispers her answer, "Yes. _Always."_


	3. What You Awoke Inside Of Me Pt1

**-What You Awoke Inside Of Me-  
-Part One-**

This evening a dinner is to be held. Not just any dinner either. Potential allies to the demonic race are coming to the castle to discuss terms of agreement to solidify an alliance. Zeldris isn't looking forward to it. He's been to a few meetings like these over the years. Being one of the three Princes of the Demon King, they're supposed to represent the strength and power of the demon clan while standing next to their father. It's long and winded and in the end it's always just a useless bunch of ass kissing to the youngest son.

But the Royal Vampires coming could be useful to his father, so once again Zeldris is forced to squeeze into a tux, strap on his scabbard, and dust off his scarcely used crown and appear to the left of his eldest brother, Meliodas, as usual.

The throne room, wide, tall, and decked with decorations of various shades of red and pitch black is a sight he's beheld many times throughout his youth. Seeing it stuffed with tasteful accents and long stretching tables to the sides with servants waiting for the evening to begin doesn't stir interest in Zeldris. His mind wanders to the new ways of harnessing his powers he'd recently been developing and how he could be outside right now where it's cool, fresh, and far from stuffy with the stressful air the servants fill the room with, practicing right now…

Two trumpets sound by the grand entrance doors to the room delivering a small fanfare for the arrival of special guests. Zeldris doesn't even flinch, his eyes locked on the high windows in the room which pour moonlight in that dissipates leagues before it even hits the ground do to all the lit chandeliers.

"We welcome the King of Vampires, Izraf, his daughter Princess Gelda, and their royal ensemble…."

His mind tunes the words out, letting them settle to the back of his mind as a dull drone. His eyes are drawn to Meliodas briefly, scanning his neat tux that clashes with the mess of his blond hair. Nevertheless, the older drips of strict control, from his posture and stare, right down to the pacing of his breath. Past him, is the ever passive towering mass that is Estarossa. He, although lax in his gaze ahead, stands tall and headstrong.

Zeldris turns his eyes forward with an inaudible sigh. Knowing the two all his life gives him the ability to see past their outward displays: They're just as bored to tears as he.

 _'There has to be something to do to make the night go by faster. Anything…'_ The frustrated thought is followed by one that suggests he at least pay _some_ attention to what's going on around him. He wants to stubbornly ignore it and perhaps go over the drills in his mind that Meliodas tends to put him through each morning at dawn. But after a few moments of these he gives up, thinking it more interesting to actually be outside _doing_ rather than thinking. Grudgingly he gives in having nothing better to do and his eyes gain focus on the several beings before them. Their figures varying in height width and overall state of tidiness nearly curls his lip in disgust. They all look like barbaric brutes. Unkempt. Uncivilized. Every single last—

His jaw actually goes slack as he sees someone overshadowed by the vampire's wild beast of a king. Shock draws tight in his lungs and the steady increase of his pulse bleeds into his hearing. No… There's one, only one, he can say is simply beyond his realm of comprehension. The young woman his eyes all but glue to, wide and awed, stands poised in an aura of palpable grace. Her hair, a pale kind of blond, he wonders how it would feel between his fingers, is twisted simply over her bare shoulder and home to the shimmering tiara atop of her head. Her eyes, he notices next with a thick swallow, are an extremely pale blue almost reminding him of crystals in their clarity. They're naturally narrow, under a pair of sooty eyelashes as she gazes about to his left with a quaint, practiced smile.

 _'Those lips….'_ His mind now beginning to sink under a haze from staring, traces over the plumpness of her mouth and the soft pink that paints it which stands out in a mesmerizing way against her porcelain skin. She's thin and curvey under the layers of her baby blue dress and he questions, no his mind screams, _'How is it possible for someone to be so… so stun—'_

"—finally my son, Zeldris."

The tail end of his father's introduction is like the searing jolt of a whip's lash. He nearly jumps to attention as awareness comes to him swiftly. Zeldris grits his teeth to steady himself, then goes into a practiced bow with his arm tucked across his chest before quickly straightening up. He's almost certain at least one of his brothers noticed his millisecond of hesitation. He can only pray that his father hadn't at the very least. Still, with the worry of trouble from possibly showing a lack of discipline prickling at the back of his neck, Zeldris, as discreetly as possible guides his eyes back in the girl's direction.

Her eyes fall somewhere towards his left, quiet in her study as her hands twiddle idly in front of her. Slowly he sees her gaze shift drawing closer to him and he becomes stiff, his breathing a little choked up. His father's words have long since become a deep hum in the back of his mind as well as the vampire king's. He has no idea why this one girl seems so attractive and almost irresistible as if naturally pulling every eye in the room to her, demanding attention. And yet, as he takes a quick glance around, no one else seems to be gazing at her. No one else seems affected by this gut deep pull he can't find a way to ignore. Why does she feel so interesting? Different?

Her blue eyes drag to a stop. _Right on him._

It's like his stomach dropped right out of him in meeting her gaze. Dazed is the sensation that begins to swallow him and soon tingles begin to feel like they're packed so deep inside of him his knees become a bit unsteady. He has to take a shaky breath. It's imperative that he look away before he winds up doing something that will embarass his father. He goes to do just that, determined to _stop staring_ , when he sees a slight twinkle form in her previously calm gaze and her lips pull up in the smallest curious grins he's ever seen.

Zeldris lowers his head and is shamed himself by the heat that spreads across his face. _'That's the Princess…'_ He thinks as the checkered paneling of the floor fazes in and out of focus do to _nerves_ of all things, _'Princess Gelda.'_

~.~.~

Dinner was finally allowed to begin as it had been decided that the vampires would stay a fortnight to further discuss agreements before drafting the treaty of alliance. This dinner however is different than any he's attended so far. It's more mingling than anything with everyone, except the two kings of different races, walking and talking amongst themselves. That is if they found someone worth talking to.

It was starting to feel like a party as more demons began to join in celebrating something they had no real inclination about.

This is about the part where Zeldris would usually find a dark corner to keep himself occupied in or simply slip away if he could, but something is keeping him there. Something with long blond hair and mysterious blue eyes.

He had been watching her or more like taking furtive glances when he could feeling like a weird stalker for doing so each time. But she was rather eye catching to the demon, more so than any new comer in the room, so it couldn't be helped. He found that she was simple in her actions as she slowly weaved through the people and polite in her responses whenever someone stopped to chat with her. From what he could tell she was the epitome of an elegant Princess. But he... He wanted to find out if there was more to her.

He looks away from her now where she stands alone with a smooth expression, one he's seen on Meliodas a million times and remembers the shine in her eyes and that little smile with such clarity his stomach tightens in fluster. No, he _knows_ there's more to her. He just has to find out.

But when he goes to create a path for himself through the mass of people, he hesitates, stopping to see if she's actually still there like a coward. His fingers curl into fists at his sides in frustration and he again winds up watching her as she lowers her head masking her expression further. _'Why can't I go talk to her damn it!? My brothers already have. And she looks like... she could use the company.'_

Why bother though? He doesn't even know her. And talking with others isn't exactly a part of his skill set. She's just this beautiful vampire. With an alluring pull that only he seems affected by. And a smile that appears to want to say many things...

He'll only figure out all these things if he talks to her.

Courage bolstered and confidence lining his steps, he makes his way to her with the crowd of people naturally parting around him. He notices as the distance closes between them, how much more excited his insides feel, almost like they're dancing on sparks of anticipation. Zeldris feels completely ridiculous now for having put things off for so long. Why the hell did he think he couldn't do this again?

His feet pull to a stop a respectable distance from her and the world pauses in a hushed silence when she looks up at him. Shocked, pleasant surprise, and hints of delight color her eyes as a teeny, nervous smile graces her visage.

Courage? Was that a thing he had before? Up against _her_ of all things? The world snaps back into play and with it the feel of a number of his hearts threatening to choke him up as his pulse blazes beneath his skin. Silence passes between them for several beats as he stares and she arches an eyebrow. Shouldn't he be saying something instead of staring like a slack jawed fool?

He coughs nervously to cover it up before offering his hand. Then somehow he allows some of the stupidest things to fall past his lips, "Good evening, I'm Zeldris Prince. N-no, wait! I'm Prince Zeldris! But you can just call me Prince. I mean, Zeldris! _Zeldris_."

If there was any time in his whole life that he'd wanted to fall into a pit and never be found again, that moment would be now. He closes his eyes tightly not wanting to see the mockery that would overtake her face as she now doubt laughed her ass off at his fumble. And he wouldn't blame her. Humiliation pierces him sharply and the skin over his cheeks and ears are so hot they prickle. But her response doesn't come the way he assumed.

Her hand slides tentatively into his clammy one—he was frozen in his state if he was still offering it to her—and she does indeed laugh, a delicate tinkling kind of sound that holds no bite. Cautiously he opens his eyes when he realizes she's the furthest from casting him away as useless to see her covering her mouth with her other hand, hiding away that smile he's starting to like. But her eyes smile more than enough regardless, setting his nervous aflame for an entirely different reason.

He closes his hand around her smaller, softer one. He'd swear something goes through them at the contact then, like a low, intense current. Zeldris almost shivers and internally revels at the contrast between her hand and his.

"Alright, Zeldris. I'm Princess Gelda. But, please, call me Gelda."

A noticeable blush flowers over her cheeks and he can only nod dazedly, his tongue at a loss for words for a moment. Her voice is like a coat of warmth that settles around him and he's astonished to realize he wants to hear much more of it.

Something ancient and foreign pings at the back of his mind. _This is when he's supposed to kiss her hand._ The heat that shoots up his neck at this nearly smothers him, but he swallows back against the suffocating feel and bends over her hand. His lips brush against her skin as his hearing fills with the beat of his hearts. Again he feels that current surge between them and he struggles not to let his lips linger as he shakily straightens his stance. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Gelda."

His eyes roam her face taking in the flush there that surely matches his and the way her hand finally slips from over her mouth revealing almost shy way she smiles. The nerves that coil in his chest now tells him he managed something right.

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine," her voice is layered thick with certainty under her bashful gaze.

Gently he lets her hand go and turns his gaze over her shoulder spotting a servant carrying a tray of red liquid which sparks an idea in his mind. "You wouldn't mind then, if I kept you company?"

Her eyes give her answer in the way they soften pleasantly. "Not at all."

 _'Okay,'_ he mentally congratulates, wanting to feel relieved but knowing he's only crossed one obstacle and is headed straight for another. Now to actually try and figure her out. A million and one questions goes through his mind as he stands next to her off to the side, just out of hearing of others. And he goes for one, deciding to throw caution to the wind when her voice reaches him first halting him in his tracks.

"You know, you look so much like Prince Meliodas. It shocked me at first."

His eyebrow raises and he recalls when she first saw him and that look in her eye. Had he mistaken it for something more when it was actually just the usual surprise everyone has when seeing he and his brother? _Of course._ He's always compared to the great Meliodas. Why wouldn't this time be any different?

The emotions inside him one by one begin to wither and as a result his voice comes out dry. "I'm nothing like the original right?"

She blinks and the look from the curl of her mouth is confused. "No... He looks so sad."

Zeldris almost chokes, his eyes widening in disbelief. _Meliodas?_ His brother, Meliodas, look _sad!?_ The man looks like he could dance in the innards of the next person who looks at him wrong, and he'd do it with _pleasure_. And she says he looks sad?

But she goes on further explaining her baffling belief. "It's like looking at someone trapped against their will... do you understand?"

No. Not at all. But he nods the tiniest bit just to appease her anyway. Then her eyes go to him lapsing into a more light kind of gaze that stills his insides before a wave of warmth rolls through him. He shudders under her stare.

"But then there's you. You're much different. I can't place what just yet, but... It's nice to be around." She announces earnestly.

Fuck, is that her talent? To make him go through a maelstrom of fluster that leaves him speechless and blushing like an idiot each time?

...Because damn he's starting to like it.

"Eh, thanks," he tells her with his eyes down, his voice barely above the crowd, and the red flaming his ears the indicator that this is his first real show of gratitude.

Her hand falls onto the sleeve of his tux and he feels each of her fingers curl, squeezing almost in comfort. "If you want to thank me, just always keep me company."

His head jolts up in surprise and their eyes hold for numerous beats of his hearts. He can't figure out what she means besides the obvious with those words, even as he tries to prod past the deep blue barrier in the very depths of her eyes. So all he can do is nod. "Alright."

Her barely there smile is reward enough.

He breaks away from her luminescent expression and takes his chance to ask her a question. "What is it you like to do, Gelda?" He tastes her name carefully and savors the flavor with contentment.

At his question her face becomes a bit more melancholic with her eyes dulling and her smile becoming pained. And something within lurches. He wants to backpedal, to burn his words to ashes. Anything to take away the sadness that paints treacherously across her face.

"I'm an avid reader because I... want to know what it's like out there in the world. I'm only allowed to go out so far from home. Always with guards. Always at night. So I read. Imagining what it's like to have the sun warm your skin or what places are like that has sky scraping mountains or pools of water as deep as you can imagine or is so cold you can feel it right down to your bones, but you'd love it anyway…" She admits with eyes far away, her expression now close to looking like a shattered dream. "Vampires are their weakest during the day, you know. And my father refuses to risk his only child for her silly wish to see the world."

She turns to him as he trembles in sympathy— _genuine sympathy_ —for this girl he's only just met. But that's starting to fade from his mind as unimportant the longer he stays in her presence. "But it's okay. I've made peace with this," she goes on and even gains a fond smile that starts to put him at ease. "I actually found that I enjoy horseback riding a great deal and it lets me feel just a bit more free, riding under the stars. Although, I haven't been able to do so in a while with all the trouble brewing in the horizon. My father has been stressed and decided against it for now."

She falls silent as her head lowers the way he saw from across the room, only this time her fingers go to the end of the twist in her hair fidgeting with the stands in seemingly a habit. There's more to her, as he suspected, he just hadn't thought it'd be disheartening. Something that'd actually reach inside of him when all he usually cares about is trying to become stronger to somehow make a place for himself in his father's eyes. He didn't think he'd actually care enough to want to try and correct the situation. But he does.

First though, he needs that smile of hers back almost like he needs strict order in his life. "I, uh, might be able to help," her offers hesitantly with a forming plan in mind. At her hopeful stare he gives a grin that feels uncomfortable on his face, "But first, how about dinner? I know you must be hungry." Already he takes the initiative by placing a hand on her lower back while internally shouting at his stomach to stop doing flips at the contact.

He keeps his eyes on the table sparkling with all kinds of delicious entrees and beverages. He eyeballs the small section filled with glasses filled with red liquid like he saw the servant carrying before in hopes of distracting himself from the divine scent that flows through his senses from the girl beside him. In fact he's so busy picking out each aspect of it with great care that he almost misses Gelda state with a teasing giggle, "Zeldris, I can't eat food. I'm a vampire, remember?"

His eyes move to her face and trail down to the two tell-tell fangs just barely peeking over her lower lip. He knows he's staring too long when he feels the heavy fuzz of a daze coming into his mind, but her mouth seems to do that to him for some reason. "...Right."

He snaps into focus when she starts to pull on his sleeve guiding him instead. But the question still raises in his mind, _'What can she have here then?'_

"This should do though."

Her voice simultaneously meshes with the thick swell of a coppery tinge that surges in the air and he looks to see her holding one of the glasses filled with crimson liquid. Blood. Ah, so his father did have the vampires in mind when planning dinner.

It's after she's taken a sip, her mouth twisting in consideration afterwards, that she realizes he's watching her, admittedly in fascination. She begins to redden, matching the deep red that stains her lips. "I'm sorry. Does this bother you?"

"No." And it doesn't. He thought it would, the fact that she's drinking blood so causally. But he's eaten raw dragon meat after a fresh kill, so he figures he's the worst of the two here. In all honesty though, he's just soothed by the fact that she has what she needs to survive. And that's a thought so unusual of him that he feels the need to turn away from her scrutiny.

And in doing so spots Estarossa eyeing he and Gelda with mischief deep in his gaze. Zeldris, unsettled by this fact, watches further while Gelda drinks and drinks, glass after glass, oblivious at his side. His brother must be up to something, that look spells it all. But what?

Estarossa, seeing he has the younger's attention, proceeds to snag the nearest woman, a slim, but no less attractive lavender haired demoness, points between Zeldris and Gelda, then slowly, lewdly begins to roll his hips into hers pulling a squawk and a full bodied flush from the poor woman. He ends with a thumbs up in Zeldris' direction whose entire face flushes in shame, in mortification at the implication. His mouth gapes in embarrassment.

Estarossa on the other hand laughs heartily, cheeks red from alcohol, before tugging the woman away with an arm around her waist, feeling his job done.

Zeldris grabs the nearest drink needing to cool down from what he'd been forced to witness and downs it. Only then to choke at the gut churning repulsive flavor it gives as he spits it out in a spray all over the floor.

Gelda stares with wide eyes in complete silence for so long, he fears he screwed any favor he gained in her eyes in a single instance.

But that moment shatters as she begins to laugh. A full bodied kind of sound that causes her cheeks to glow in her enthusiasm.

And even at his expense, he can't find any sense of anger or self loathing. She simply looks too beautiful, too radiant, for such things. This one time he doesn't mind being a joke of Estarossa's, as long as it puts that smile on her face.


	4. What You Awoke Inside Of Me Pt2

**-Part Two-**

The Demon King had the castle's mage place an enchantment upon the windows of the castle—with the exception of Zeldris', Meliodas', Estarossa's, and the King himself—so that the Vampires were free to roam around. Zeldris had a strong urge to go to Gelda and help her get settled in and show her around the castle as well the next day, but he knew it was a ridiculous idea and that others were taking care of this. And when he really thought hard on why he would want to do such a thing, removing all the silly excuses he could make up, it came down to the simple fact of wanting to see her again.

A tad bit lighter at the realization, he decided to give in to the rash idea, only the remnants of his forming plan from the night before pushed him in a better direction.

Zeldris had ended up stealing two horses.

He knew nothing about the creatures and never needed to. Why would he, when he could move faster than the average being could sense and sprout wings whenever he wished? Finding an old farm in Britannia had been easy though. And there had been plenty of them milling about to choose from. The only problem was that they kept galloping away from him with high pitched whinnies each time he attempted to assess them.

They knew of his nature.

That had made the task more tedious than anything when he'd finally decided on two with fur a dark brown that shined black in the moonlight. Finding the creatures and then tying them to a tree in the field he wished to take Gelda took most of the afternoon, most of which he also knew Gelda was settling into the castle and unfortunately confined indoors.

While waiting for the night to claim the sky and the guards patrol to shift away from the window he knew Gelda's to be, Zeldris let his mind wander to the Princess that seemed to peek his interest like no other has. He'd gone out and stolen horses, useless creatures and a waste of his time all because she'd been so disheartened and he wanted to change that. Why would he want to do that? Why does her happiness seem to play a huge role in his life, just like that? He rubs his hand over his face while leant against a secluded alcove near her window on the first floor. It's unbelievable how the shine in her eyes and that small smile of hers can make him feel so good for even managing to bring them to her beautiful visage.

Now both hands go to cover his face as a flush spreads there at the thought.

But something shakes nervously inside him as his hands fall from his face and he stares at his palms looking for answers. "Will she like this surprise? Or will she think I'm crazy for stealing horses for her?" His palms clench against the tremor inside of him. "Fuck, I don't even know how to ride the damn things." His head falls back so that the dark spread of sky is displayed above, him dusted with shimmering stars. The guards are a good distance away, not even headed there for some time. It's about time he collects her.

Stepping out of the alcove, Zeldris goes to the first window on the right of it and peers in tentatively. The cloak of the mages magic upon the windows wanes in the night, but grows stronger with the day, so he can see the spread of a quaint yet elegant room with one Princess perched on the edge of her bed. Upon laying eyes on her, his mouth goes dry and his fingers clench against the windowpane.

She's not doing anything special and yet she's magnificent in his mind. Her hair is out of its plait, running over her shoulder like a silken river as she brushes it slowly. She's barefoot with her dainty feet crossed at her ankles. The dress that clings to her is simple in design and a rich forest green. He stares at her intently, wanting to see her like this more often even though he knows it's a fickle hope. He can't help that she takes his breath away and fills his chest with a growing warmth.

Eventually he looks down and swallows, noticing the clamminess to his palms on the pane of her window. He's not supposed to be ogling her, but getting her attention. Focus regained he looks up once more only to see Gelda staring at him with a blush bridging across her button nose. Losing a breath Zeldris lifts a hand and awkwardly waves it at her while mentally berating himself for appearing like a pervert looking through her window.

Gelda rises quickly after tossing her brush to her bed and hurries to her window where he steps back to allow her to open it. For a moment the wind sweeps through and brushes her tresses behind her in an elegant wave leaving her to chord her fingers through her bangs placing them behind her ear. His eyes soften on her in a daze at her natural beauty. "What are you doing here, Zeldris?" She blinks curious eyes at him.

He looks down at where his hand are subtly trembling before meeting her expectant gaze. "I did say I'd be able to help you with your problem, didn't I?"

Her brows furrow for a moment, then a dawn of understanding gleams in her eyes. "Did you—?"

He smirks. "Get ready to go horseback riding, Gelda."

~.~.~

It'd only taken her a few moments to plait her hair and throw on a pair of dark flat shoes. Then she'd climbed out of the window with his aid and clutched his arm as they snuck off the castle grounds. There were a few close calls where they had to hide and duck out of sight and Gelda's giggles made the whole thing a game more than anything. His pulse never stopped racing at their closeness and her excitement and she even pulled a few chuckles from him when they slipped out of the castle walls effectively winning their game.

Once in Britannia, the field where he left the horses isn't too far from where the portal deposits them, so it's only a matter of time before Gelda spots them and lets out a delightful gasp. Her hold on his arm relinquishes and with quick feet she's off to greet the grazing animals.

He greatly misses her pleasant heat and alluring smell, but seeing her pet the beasts' snouts and noticing how well they take to her easily replaces that feeling of loss with content.

He decides to keep a nice distance so the horses don't grow anxious while she's so near them. Gelda with her hand running through the mane of one in particular, turns to Zeldris with a lovely smile that glows in her eyes. "They're so wonderful, Zeldris. I can't even begin to thank you for bringing me here."

Her tone the happiest he's heard brings heat to his ears. "You, um, haven't even ridden one yet," he offers gently.

"You're right," she laugh sweet as honey and a feeling turns low in his stomach. "Can I ride this one, then?"

Bringing his eyes to her, he hides his confusion and nods sheepishly.

Something darkens her eyes, a knowing kind of look that deepens her smile. "Thank you, Zeldris," she says overly sweet. Before he can figure out the hidden meaning to her look, _because he knows there is one_ , she's untying the creature and climbing atop it with ease. Then with the urging of her heels and a flick of her reins she and the horse take off.

And he's left to stare at the remaining one with a grimace.

The closer he gets to it the more it tries to distance itself with distressed noises that begins to irritate him. He's not going to hurt the damn thing. It should realize that if he'd wanted to by now it would've been made clear. Nevertheless, Zeldris somehow gets it untied and leaps onto it with less finesse than Gelda had as it keeps moving about anxiously. But he winds up seated with the reins in his grip ultimately.

That's a success, right?

The horse is an uncomfortable presence under him as it shifts nervously on its hooves on the flat terrain. Zeldris' grip on its reins is steady and all for show as he awkwardly sits on the creature well over his height. A fall from this thing wouldn't hurt, too badly, he decides when the horse makes a nervous blowing noise and takes a few reckless trots forward for the hundredth time. He doesn't blame it for wanting to get as far away from him as possible.

That is if he weren't trying to make Gelda feel better by riding these things.

And from what he can see of her as she takes control of her horse with such ease, the two seeming to flow together naturally through the night even after having just met, well, she seems lighter than air. Free, unbound.

A warmth begins to swirl inside of him, stirring hotter the longer he keeps his eyes on her galloping around the field. _'I've never really felt this way before. It's so foreign. I don't even know what to do with myself, but...'_ His grip on the reins tightens, an unspoken command, and the horse jerks beneath him before breaking into a full on sprint.

In he takes a breath to finally relax his stiff limbs from the fall and his eyes fall shut wiping away all visual. The sound of his horse's gallops begin to fade and overlap with another's approaching, and his relaxed posture stiffens painfully. _'Damn, of course she'd see me make a fool of myself...'_

"Zeldris! Oh, Zeldris are you alright!?" She shouts, her voice stained with concern and he doesn't have it in him to look at her from his place thrown like a weak ragdoll to the ground.

But feet hit the dirt and before he even knows what's happening, his torso is lifted into her lap and caring fingers are weaving into the back of his hair, soothing against his scalp. His eyes fall open to see her face over his right over his. A few locks of her pale hair have fallen free to softly sway in the wind, and he resists the urge to brush the pads of his fingers over the curve of her cheek bone to see if her skin is as soft as he imagines it to be, then to curve them around her ear as he stares, transfixed. Her gaze is fixed and deeply worried as her fingers rub gently through his hair. And suddenly he's overcome with a blaze of emotion that sinks in him and takes root. Zeldris struggles not to brush her hair behind her ear with a furious blush and a shift of his gaze.

"Are you alright? She probably just got spooked by something and took off." Gelda attempts to explain with a sheepish little grin.

"I'm fine…" He assures slowly as he takes her words in. He can almost hear the chortles of Estarossa and the quiet contempt from Meliodas as he pulls himself from out of her worried hold, feeling undeserving of it. He'd been riding the female horse the entire time?

Zeldris muffles a moan of despair into his hands. As if things couldn't get any worse...

A piercing whistle sails past his ears drawing a wide eyed gaze from him when he sees Gelda pulling two fingers from her mouth—one from each hand—having been the one responsible. She blinks at him feeling his gaze and opens her mouth, closes it, then chooses her words almost carefully. "I'm sure she'll come back, if that's what you're worried about. I know I must seem weird to you now. Most Princesses don't spend their time—"

"I don't think that at all," he has to interrupt and in a rush too because she has to know that that's the furthest thing in his mind every time his thoughts turn to her. "I think you're different. Good different!" He corrects when her expression starts to go sour. "I like it…" He mutters towards the ground feeling the thunderous pumps in his chest start to cause a nervous tremble in his hands. He wishes he had the courage to say _I like you_ , but it's much too soon. She just saw him get thrown off a female as she rode a stallion with expertise. She'd go running for the hills.

A grip on his sleeve brings his head up enough to see her lips turned up just enough in gratefulness. "Thank you, Zeldris." But then something darkens the blue of her eyes just as her lips shift into a teasing smirk. His mouth goes dry just watching the shift. "You know, if you weren't experienced with horses you didn't have to do this."

He only shakes his head a little dazed instead, still staring at the light flush in her cheeks, the flare of her gaze, and his favorite pair of lips... "I did. I needed to make you smile." The words shot past his lips against his will leaving the air uncertain between them.

Gelda rushes to clear things up when she gifts him with a soft hug. He's too shocked to figure out how to return it before it's gone, but he takes full pleasure in the way her hands grip his shoulders and the low, flustered tone she takes when she stares down at his chest instead of meeting his eyes. "You're very sweet, Zeldris. Thank you."

That feeling of heat and warmth that had taken root and given him no control over the new feelings dancing without care within him is one he just doesn't want to lose.

~.~.~

After she'd ridden until the wee hours of morning, it was decided that they return to the Demon Realm. Sneaking Gelda back into her room was an easy task after she'd convinced him to return the horses with a grateful smile that had lit up her whole face at the time. She'd gazed at him from out of her window, dress rumpled with grass stains here and there, but still looking absolutely stunning if anyone were to ask him. She'd made to assure him with a sugary kind of feel which had made his nerves buzz, they were zipping through his veins so quickly, "You don't need to steal anymore horses for my sake. These memories will be enough to lift me for quite some time."

And he believed her.

Now he's shut off in his chamber a floor from her room, buried under covers with plans for sleep. The accomplishment of helping Gelda rise from the tangles of restraint she's being kept in, even just a little, rolls right through him like a light relaxing wave. He breaths slowly, pressing his face into his pillows more, knowing he has to be up and ready at dawn sharp to meet with Meliodas. But the image of Gelda persists in his mind for a time and Zeldris simply feels _warm_ , like when wrapped in the arms of someone who'd never give up on you. And _content_ , like all the tension in his muscles have been released and he can just lay there dreaming of the fair haired Princess without worry. He feels soft fingers dusting at the nape of his neck then tracing down the bumps up his spine, enticingly slow as well…

His mind lazily prods him with a question. _'A hand…?'_

Both his hands are curled beneath his pillow under his head and even if they _weren't_ it'd be impossible for him to reach behind himself in such a way. Shock which gives way to logic which can't explain away the sensation leaves him wide open to the full feel of someone's very soft, very delicate palm now splaying out across his shoulder blade. The demon sucks in a curse as he twists in bed at the same time flaring out his powers to sense the person who somehow slipped into his room. The person's hand isn't bothered by his shift in position. In fact, it moves with him, sliding along his ribs and smoothing along his stomach in a way the muscles there twitch as he inhales sharply.

Just as he goes to capture the person's wrist, already thinking of a thousand and one ways to end their existence for sneaking upon on him in such a way, something draws him up short. Just as he focuses his thin glare in their direction, many things seem to happen at once. Blood rushes so fast to his skull he's almost positive he'll pass out before all of it, every single drop, decides to flood south to where he's afraid the erection he gains just might spring free of his loose sleep pants. His hand settles shakily around her wrist where the places where they touch practically numb from the charge of his desire for her running so high. And it's weird, he thinks, how such a simple look can leave him so boneless, so fidgety, so starving for breath as heat gathers in his lungs.

His mind may be out of commision, run through with his suddenly acute need, but his eyes most certainly have not lost their ability to feed his insides with fuel to his blaze. It's the Princess he ogles like a gaping fish out of water. But never would he have thought to let his mind dip her image in a salacious glaze the way it is now. She wears nothing, not a stitch, to cover her smooth white skin except a thin encircling of pure darkness around her breasts and another strip that weaves around her hips and in between her thighs. It's hardly enough to keep his eyes from flicking from the thick spread of eyelashes that shadow the molten darkening her blue eyes down the many soft curves of her figure he wants so desperately to put his hands on even if he doesn't have the slightest clue of what he'd do.

Gelda watches him with a tiny knowing smile as wisps of blond hair fall in front of her smoldering eyes, around her ears, and along her the length of her lovely throat where he suddenly wishes to trail his tongue slowly and leave breath stealing kisses. He swallows and looks away only to notice just how she's positioned over him with an internal groan. Her knees are spread on either side of his, sunk into the bed and it's instantly that much harder not to notice the swell of her hips that curve into her plump thighs nor can he keep his focus off of her her belly and just how smooth it might be against his hands.

His very persistent problem gives a few good twitches in time with his speeding pulse and without looking he can tell from the brush of cool air against him, some quick readjusting will be needed—as useless as that may be. And he goes to sit up, pushing from under her and that's when Gelda moves. She slides forward to sit on his thighs with a sultry purr that draws his eyes to the full rose tint of her heart shaped lips. A thought goes to his mind that maybe he should be asking _what the hell is going on?_ But the teasing feel of her clad without anything pressed against his thighs scrubs it right away and a white hot blank kind of feel takes its place when her hand goes from his chest to his very exposed , very needy erection in a searing grasp.

He's sure he chokes then a strained kind of groan comes when instead of pulling his pants up, she shoves them down and behind her to where they're bunched at his knees. And despite the darkness being there, he can feel _everything._ The softness of her, the sticky wet heat gathering where she's most hot, even a tiny pulse that beats as fast as his. And his length cradled and stroked, and pumped in her grasp begins throb and pulse in a messy kind of way as the heated storm in his chest threatens to collapse inside of him sending him spiraling towards a place he's not yet reached.

Not a word has left his lips since her appearance. Not _what are you doing here?_ Not _how did you get here?_ Not even _when did you learn how to control darkness?_ He should question this entire encounter. But something keeps him silent. It could be the way she's looking at him, her eyes clouded in their own storm of longing. It could be the way her cheeks are flowered in a deep rose as her lips part to breathe almost soundless pleas of pleasure more seductive than anything he's seen while she grinds a wet path along his thigh. It could also be the rough sounds he's making as well from the constant tightening inside of him just her tight little hand provides him.

What they're doing is _dangerous,_ if caught. What they're doing is _thrilling_ regardless. And it's an insane idea to want to run his hands up her stomach and cup her breasts as he kisses a path up her shoulder. It'd be crazy to pull her close and press where they're most hot together until they both quake and melt and lose their minds all at once. He _knows_ it'd be nuts if he just lifted a hand and—

Gelda abruptly lets go of her hold on him and instead pushes herself flush against his front so that her nipples, hard and strained are unmistakable against his chest, the heat of her thighs are warm and tantalizing around his hips, and his erection is trapped between his stomach and her slick cleft. He's certain he won't ever be able to breathe again as she pulls his trembling arms around her while her mouth goes to his neck in a shuddering sigh. And like a snap his hands, one at the small of her back and easing lower over the mouthwatering curve of her rear while the other sits just under her shoulder blades, clutches her to him. Then Zeldris begins to roll his hips against her suddenly needing this more than anything in his life.

Heat pricks the tops of his ears at the way her sounds start to sound urgent and stick more and more in her throat as if to force them out would lead to a full blown wail. He doesn't know whether to feel pride at this or to allow the heady feeling stuffing his skull and building like a pressure ready to erupt at the base of his groin to rein free.

Gelda decides for him when she scrapes her tiny fangs along his neck and breathes out a single question. "Will you let me taste you?"

He comes undone as his vision fades behind his eyelids, his release overwhelming in full bodied waves as it lands in thick ropes along his stomach and chest. He'd let her drink him dry for a feeling like _this_. It's draining and filling all at once as he muffles his gratifying sounds and rolls his hips to a fading thrum. And when the blaze of sensations finally ends, all he can do is sigh in satisfaction and blink his open to see the very faint rays of sunlight crawling across his pillow.

The loose languid feel ground deep into his muscles retracts in an instant the second he realizes that _she's not there_. She's a floor beneath him where he left her. It wasn't real. Damn it, it was a _dream_. A sticky, embarrassing one at that as he begins to feel the mess cooling beneath him. For a moment he searches frantically through his mind for something similar like this that might have happened, but nothing comes to mind.

He'd thought he was over stuff like this and just happened to be lucky to have skipped right over the awkward patch of wet dreams Estarossa insisted on telling him of in that teasing tone of his. When it came to his years of puberty, he'd gone through years being scrawny and pathetic looking before filling out into a stature similar to his eldest brother's. He hadn't gained hair on his chest and his voice had stopped cracking and found a home at a low tenor. And there was obviously a spiked new interest in curvy beautiful women. He'd get a bit excited from time to time but that was easily brushed aside for more important things like his studies being a Prince of the realm required and the power and firm discipline he had to attain. That is until his eyes landed on _her_. Now he doesn't seem to understand how to balance on the fine line he's paved of his life anymore.

His befuddled thoughts flee the moment he senses something foreboding heading his way. It's like a deep, heavy dread that takes root in his bones and stings along his spine painfully. And for the life of him he can't figure out why it feels like death is marching towards his door.

The sunlight grows stronger on his pillow and Zeldris' insides freeze over in terror.

The malevolence gathers behind his chamber door before said door is thrust open with such force it cracks against his wall. And Zeldris can only turn with wide eyes to stare at Meliodas, his throat too dry to form a curse at his own misfortune.

He's late.

 _He's never late._

A Meliodas stares him down with a frigid glower knowing this too.

They stare at each for several beats, Zeldris chilled enough to not want anything to do with dreams for a long while, and Meliodas calculating and searching. Meliodas breaks their gaze in favor of glancing around in seek of what kept the younger, when his nose twitches. "Why does it smell like frustrated sex in here?" his eyes zero in on Zeldris cringing upon his bed. His expression turns dry as blond eyebrows lower in a straight line. "Oh. I thought you were through that phase."

Now Zeldris feels downright humiliated as he begins to splutter. " _I am._ T-this just hasn't happened before."

A slight raise to Meliodas' eyebrow that disappears under his bangs and Zeldris wonders why he even opened his mouth to begin with. "You're either younger than I remember, or vanilla in your exploits." He holds up a hand before Zeldris can protest and dig a hole deeper for himself and continues, "Get cleaned and meet me outside in half an hour no more." Then he about faces and departs from the room.

Briefly Zeldris buries his head under his pillows and begs the question of why the sun raised that day.


	5. What You Awoke Inside Of Me Pt3

Thanks **lickitysplit** for looking over the training scene!

* * *

 **-Part Three-**

"You know, Estarossa always complained of me going easy on you, saying I was playing favoritism between you two," Meliodas tells him as they march briskly towards the "training grounds" which is really just a thick, unruly forest in Britannia littered with threats of all sorts in the creatures that live in it to the vegetation that grows. The shades of vibrant color that sprout from the trees, bushes, and grass are entirely deceiving and meant to draw in the unsuspecting. Zeldris has seen plenty of skeletons barely dusted over by dirt to prove this.

Hearing his brother say he might have been going easy on him when Zeldris is positive he winds up with more bruised bones than he can count after each day of training causes a shudder to twist down his spine. But the idea that he somehow earned a favorite spot in his brother's mind is warming as well as ludicrous. Meliodas isn't one to dole out special treatment from what he's seen over the years.

Meliodas doesn't seem to notice his quiet musing or he doesn't care as they draw closer to the line of trees marking the entrance to the forest. "Maybe he's right… I have been going easy on you. You almost missed your cue to bow and you were late this morning. These slip ups can't keep happening, Zeldris."

His words are more debilitating than a sword scraping along his nerves. He _knew_ Meliodas would have noticed his hesitation before the Royal Vampires They both halt right before the forest as he forces out, "I won't let them, brother."

He doesn't turn to see it but he can feel Meliodas giving him _a look._ A look that shoots right through his flesh and terrorizes his soul. He only breathes when the feeling goes away. "Hmm, I'm sure of that because today things won't be so easy…"

Meliodas vanishes into the forest signifying the start of his training for the day. Zeldris knows of his objective: To track the older and subdue him before the same can be done to himself. And just as he knows of his objective he intends to rise to the challenge and succeed for once. So with his brother's energy no longer detectable to his keen senses, Zeldris forces his own energy to shrink and compress until it's a teeny sphere of destruction at his core. Then he pads forward into the throng of trees.

Zeldris knows it's absolutely imperative to never leave a trail behind. Scents on anything can give him away. He stalks forward, keeping his footsteps as light as possible. He doesn't need a path behind him as an easy giveaway. His powers being so tightly coiled is so that the animals around don't give him away either as well as to keep his brother off of his tail. But besides honing his tracking an ambushing skills, this particular training is also good for helping him master power manipulation.

He's done this a thousand times and still as he creeps forward weaving through, but never touching, the trees, his hearts still drum in his ears in strained anticipation. No matter where he goes he keeps downwind in hopes of maybe catching his brother's scent. He knows as well that his brother too could be doing the same some distance behind him. It's why he keeps low behind the bushes in hopes that it'll at least hinder his scent's progression, mixing it with the damp earth that swells all around.

His ears are strained as he decides to wait in place for the time. He's crouched low and absolutely still between several trees and thick shrubbery. He listens for a sign, a crunching of leaves, a snapping of a dry branch. But he only hears the chirps of birds above. The skittering of a creature along a tree.

He almost hisses out a curse as his muscles strain. Meliodas is excellent at what he sets out to do. If he doesn't wish to be found, he won't be. And if he wants to find you, _he will_.

Zeldris decides after feeling the wind shift and smelling nothing helpful upon it that he should scout a new area. Keeping low as always his eyes look for any signs that something might have been disturbed by anything not of this forest. The dirt and grass he comes across looks pristine, springy and lively as if no one has walked on it yet. He carefully makes sure to keep it that way when he makes his way towards a section of the forest where the trees begin to open up into a grove.

He breathes slowly, patiently, as he presses behind a thick tree, careful not to exactly touch it. A mysterious beast, towering with scales all over its husk is scouted venturing deeper into the area. Meliodas wouldn't be here. It's much too open where you'd be spotted a distance away. He's just deciding to go the opposite way he came, his feet avoiding the cluster of dead leaves in his way, when the wind shifts again. His spine stiffens and he makes to face the grove. Meliodas is somewhere in there and this is his only chance to sneak up on him.

The scent is fresh, like his brother just moved. So Zeldris is careful to give the general direction of where Meliodas could be a wide berth. It'd be best to come at him from the side so the older doesn't catch onto him. Being so close makes his insides almost jumpy. He wants to hurry as he circles and squeezes in between the trees. But that leads to mistakes. He has to stay alert for anything. The creature he saw moving away was a dead giveaway that something was here. Now he only has to find him himself. Slowly. Patiently.

He finds himself at the side of where he thinks Meliodas could be and begins to move forward, keeping his eyes sweeping each way. Something pricks at his instincts the closer he gets. He should have seen something by now, shouldn't he? The trees are spread enough that the blur of distance is ominous. But he should be able to see a shock of blond by now, this close. Hearts leaping in uncertainty a new idea comes to mind. Maybe this is too easy? He's caught Meliodas' scent before during these training sessions at times and they've always been a tad bit old like he's moved on by then. So why is it he managed to catch one so fresh, so easily?

Zeldris pauses behind a tree and allows his natural instincts to flourish. He hears nothing. No chirps. No scratching. No wind. A trap then.

He's swift, but silent to backtrack as the hairs on the back of his neck tell him to retreat. There's something here that he can't quite sense. His brother most likely closing in. From his left, or his right, behind even as Zeldris gets painfully closer to the more clustered part of the forest.

But it's right in front of him several yards away from escape where he sees Meliodas stalking quietly forward as well as if to meet him. They both freeze. Their eyes lock. They both become as still as the silence around them.

Then Zeldris unsheathes his sword strapped to his hip and dashes forward, all pretenses of silence and stealth abandoned. He's certain he has a chance as he's taken the initiative. His sword already swinging in an arc to doll out damage. But when he swipes through empty air, he knows it's already over.

Meliodas reappears behind him in a sudden surge of power before the first slice to his back sends his body reeling in white hot agony. He's numb to the way his body careens forward through trees that split and collapse under him. Hardly takes a breath when he plunges to the ground and stays there under Meliodas' boot.

He only shifts his head a bit so he's not smothered by the dirt pressed to his face.

"That was really good." Meliodas praises, breathless from adrenaline, while digging his foot more into the wound he inflicted. Zeldris fingers curl into the ground, announcing his torment. "If you'd remembered to use your power you might have gotten me first."

Seeing Meliodas had been such a shock the what thought hadn't crossed his damn mind. What a foolish mistake. Meliodas must have circled around himself when the wind had changed, intending on sneaking up on the younger as Zeldris suspected, only Zeldris backtracked and they met in the middle. He could have won this time. _Fuck._

Meliodas eases up on his pressure to Zeldris' wound and the younger sighs, feeling his power start to stitch up muscles and skin neatly. "Now that we've thoroughly warmed up, it's time to bring in a little help for this next part…"

Zeldris almost wishes he didn't know what his brother might be hinting at, but when a new set of boots casually strides forward carrying the passive aggressive presence of Estarossa, he lets his head fall back to the earth fully in defeat.

"I'm so pleased to be allowed in on your training today, little brother. Meliodas and I will make certain that you're whipped into shape by nightfall." Estarossa assures him in noticeably high spirits.

The dirt muffles his hopeless groan.

~.~.~

Nightfall had eventually crawled across the sky, sucking the lively orange and purple hues from it like a draining leach. Not that the color that replaces them are bleak and unsettling. Zeldris finds himself looking up at the night sky, at the deep telling blue in fact, as he walks in measured steps along the cobblestone path to the demonic castle. His brothers left ahead of him when the sky had first began to grow darker, leaving him to nurse his aches and slowly healing gashes. This is a normal occurrence he's used to. Being left to think about where he went wrong, or where he could improve. But today feels especially different for some reason.

It's when he's gripping his shoulder where a burn particularly flares, his eyes now pulled towards the ground where he can see blood dripping from a laceration on his forearm that the difference makes itself known.

His feet drag to a stop and his eyes pull up to the castle where the doors are thrust open wide. The two guards stiff on each side of them aren't what he focuses on. His eyes are drawn to the girl standing in the center of the doors' entranceway, her crystal blue eyes focused on the spread of stars and the glowing moon above. The clear streaks in her eyes are the only things in her expression that gives away her emotions. Her lips are curved softly and her thin eyebrows are set passively over her eyes. Her hair is plaited across her bare shoulder and he swallows against the feeling that swells up inside him just seeing her again after that dream.

She stands so strong, so radiant in the moonlight. A fragile beauty in his eyes.

An uncomfortable heat climbs up his neck as he thinks this and believes it as true. Then the feeling multiplies when she takes notices of his presence and watchful gaze, becoming a tight pressure in his gut that turns his eyes down. He hopes to hide his blush.

"Zeldris! Are you alright!?" The shout of concern tugs his head up to see her rushing towards him, hands fisting her lengthy dress to aid her movements.

His jaw opens and shuts a few times, unable to process her worry. This gives her the chance to close the distance between them so that she can very lightly place her hand on his forehead as if he's sick. Must be the flush under his skin, he decides.

At this close, the shimmer of worry is almost overwhelming in her eyes and he forgets to breathe for a moment he's so warmed by it. "What happened?"

"Just training…" He answers quietly under her scrutiny. When her fingers brush feather light along his jaw letting him know of a bruise he hadn't noticed, he continues a bit more rushed do the quickening of his pulse. "This is normal. I'm fine. I'll heal up after a goodnight's sleep."

She finally lets her hand drop and a bit of the tension that had arisen from her touch begins to float away. But now she looks at him with furrowed brows and the tiny crease that forms between them both upsets him and brings about an urge that demands he place his lips there in hopes of easing it away.

Both sensations are ultimately forgotten when she carefully grabs ahold of his bicep and starts towing him inside. "You look so worn. I'll run you a bath, okay? That should help you get cleaned up and relaxed after today." She insists in a light caring way.

Again he forgets that funny thing called breathing when his blood starts to roar in his ears. "You don't have to—that's not even your job!" He tries to take his arm from her grasp. But because he doesn't exactly want to lose the feeling of her fingers curling around his arm, he winds up giving half hearted tugs.

She does pull them to a stop in the middle of the hall a moment later though. He's afraid he might have done something wrong when he feels a tremor work its way through her hand and into him. He tries to read it in her face and maybe her eyes, but he can't see past the curtain of her hair as she keeps her face down. He's utterly sick with himself at having made her upset, at having taken that smile away from her that's so damn precious to him. His hand reaches out to cover hers on his arm when she speaks stilling his motions.

"You didn't even know me and yet you went out of your way to try and make me happy. That means so much to me, Zeldris." When she finally turns her face to him and smiles, the fluttery, warm feeling glowing in her eyes flows through him in an indescribable way. His hand moves to close over hers in a gentle squeeze, the only way he can think to express it. "Now it's my turn to return the favor. Please, let me do this for you."

She squeezes his arm tenderly and he nods, allowing her closer inside his ever present barriers.

~.~.~

Most of the vampires are absent from the castle in hunt of their evening meals. When he inquired why Gelda was not out doing the same, she told him that her meals were brought to her while they were staying in the demon realm. She didn't explain why but he knew that it was just another act of restriction and this time he felt partly responsible do to her being in his realm.

He thought that when they arrived inside his chamber he'd feel some type of rush of embarrassment along the back of his neck. Or a heated tension form behind his stomach at having her there where he dreamt of her so lewdly. But instead as the door closes behind them, it's simply quiet as she glances around with curious eyes and a ghost of a smile. It's peaceful as the world outside the four walls surrounding them seems to disappear.

Gelda releases her hold on him and instead turns to face him with focused eyes. Then she stretches a hand towards him and his breathing stutters in anticipation. Her touch is so light upon his jaw that the stroke of her thumb along the bruise there is more soothing than any healing remedy.

He's lost in her caress, having closed his eyes so the sensation can grow in intensity. So when her voice reaches him sounding almost shy in doing so, his eyes snap open in mortification. _'I must look like a creep enjoying her touch so much.'_

"This bruise looks worse than before," she tells him and he's disturbed to see her glancing fleetingly at him from under her eyelashes, clearly to uncomfortable with him to even hold his gaze. Her cheeks even grow redder the more she watches him and he reacts accordingly in hopes of fixing his foolish mistake. Making her uncomfortable is the last thing he wants to do.

Zeldris snatches her hand from his face intending to drop it and step back, but he pauses at the wide eyed stare she gives him. If he drops her hand, won't she think _he's_ the one disgusted with her? Her hand held shakily between them, Zeldris looks down at it and the position in life becomes clear: He's stuck between making a girl uncomfortable or hurting her feelings somehow. "Um, t-things tend to get worse before they get better. It's not serious," he answers after a swallow still unsure of how she'll respond to his weird behavior.

Then amazingly enough her other hand slips under his chin and edges his gaze up so that he can see her eyebrow lift and the amusement that softens her face after. "I believe you, Zeldris. Now," she takes her hand and cups his that encircles hers for a moment before sliding her hands away from his completely. "I'll go draw you a bath."

He nods in stunned silence before watching her retreat beyond the door of his washroom. Then carefully he brings up the hand she cradled to give it a better view. She wasn't upset or disgusted with him nor did she flee from his chambers as quickly as she could. It was like she could see through him in that moment and the slight panic that was starting to creep up inside of him. And she wanted to calm him and show him that she didn't care about his stupid mistakes.

His hand falls back into place at his side while he brings the other up to brush his bangs up and out of his face with a breathless sigh that sounds a lot like her name. He's certain he likes her. She's not like those superficial interests he easily brushed away before. He doesn't _want_ her to be like that. He thinks he'd really like these feelings to stay. They're not like hatred or bloodlust or the thrill of doing something wickedly wrong. These feelings she brings out in him always take him by surprise and tend to make him act foolish, but he'd really like to explore them... with her if he can.

She comes out of the washroom at the moment when his hand is still curled in his hair and his hearts are flooded with wonder and a bit of hope, tingeing his cheeks a flustered hue. And, for once, instead of cracking under nerves, he tries out the smile she brought out in him before, feeling it become just a bit more comfortable as he lets his hand drop and his bangs fall messily back in place.

Until that moment, he'd never seen anyone's visage gain color so rapidly as if fire had been set to it. His smile falls as his eyes roam over her face seeking the source for such a change, but all he really notices is how her pupils seem blown wide as well. _'Where have I seen that before?'_ He tries to ask her what's wrong, but she talks over him, even going so far as to take hasty steps towards the exit of the room.

"I made your bath, Zeldris, so I'll just go for now. I'll come back later though!" The door slams shut behind her, throwing the room in a heavy silence.

His eyes stay on the spot he last saw her. "...Thank you." The two words hardly break through the quiet of the room. Confusion and worry swirl like an ugly storm in his chest. _'Did I do something wrong?'_

~.~.~

He could hardly relax in the bath made for him, thoughts too focused on what he could've done to upset her when he was sure he'd done nothing out of the ordinary. The grime and weight of the day had been washed off either way and he could tell that his wounds were starting to heal faster now that they were cleaned. All he needed was to replenish a bit of his energy with sleep and they'd be all gone.

Dressed in a pair of his usual sleep pants, he leaves the washroom with a weighted sigh, mind still imaging how quickly she fled his presence. He's about a foot from his bed when he realizes someone else is sitting upon it. His jaw unhinges at seeing her dressed in a nightgown twiddling with the end of her plaited hair. The candlelight on his side table throws her in a warm glow that's simply entrancing. She lifts her eyes to stare sheepishly up at him before they widen and focus rather intently at his bare chest.

Before she can even get a word out he's scrambling to a chest of drawers and pulling out a sleeveless black shirt to cover himself. Wildly anxious he keeps his back to her for a time. "I apologize. I d-didn't know you'd…" He kind of trails off when he recalls her saying she'd be back. He closes his eyes and forces out a breath when he realizes he didn't believe her.

"It's okay, Zeldris." She tells him, coaxing him into turning around to face her still on his bed now fidgeting nervously with a navy ribbon on her gown. He can't help but think that she looks so precious in that moment. "I came back, because... well, I like being around you a-and I was hoping I could talk to you…"

 _'Talk to me?'_ He hasn't properly talked with anyone since... since he was little and Meliodas used to come into his room some nights and tell him all sorts of stories about Meliodas' mysterious encounters over the years with a woman with flowing hair and wings. He used to love those times with his brother. He rubs his head in wonder. Strange. He'd almost forgotten about that...

Feeling a bit off balance, he moves to take the spot near Gelda and offers a hesitant, "Okay…"

"So... you're very dedicated in your training," she states interested, like a tap in a tree hoping he'll yield her the information she seeks.

He doesn't mind giving it to her. "Yes. My brothers are two of the strongest demons of my father's Ten Commandments. I have to work hard and prove myself not only as one of my father's sons, but also so I can hopefully join their ranks. I want to be on equal footing with them one day." It's a solemn wish, but one he's willing to fight for.

A twinkle of understanding gleams in her eyes. "I may not go through training as grueling as yours, but I know what it's like to have to live up to expectations."

When he raises an eyebrow in question, she lowers her head and begins to drag her finger in random patterns atop his comforter. "My father bestowed upon me an ability... An ability that allows me to look into people and read their wants and desires." She lifts her head and gives him a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. She looks almost stricken with sorrow for a brief moment before it vanishes and the emotions in her eyes become a mystery. "There's more to it, of course. It helps me get a glimpse of people's intentions without even having to speak with them."

Thoughts tumble through his skull as his eyes take on a serious edge. He thinks of all the things she's said to him and tries to pinpoint anything odd she might've mentioned... and he immediately recalls how she thought Meliodas was sad of all things. He still has a hard time believing that as true. Then a terrible idea comes to mind and he shuffles his gaze away from hers. What if she's noticed things about him? Like the dumbstruck way he tends to act around? Finally after a moment of silence which she allowed him to process, he asks weakly, "So what have you read from me?"

She laughs and it's mirthful and lovely. A tune he'd never get tired of hearing. "I told you before, did I not? I couldn't quite figure out what was different about you. To me, you're like this fortress I can't get past, but the feelings that I can sense around it are comforting. To me they're safe," she admits quietly and bashful as she tries to hide her expression by ducking her head.

Nothing can make him look away from her right now as the glow from the candle light flickers mesmerizing illuminations across her face bringing out the length of her eyelashes as the dust across her cheeks and the bones beneath them which are nicely defined. The length of her neck is shown off in the flare of flames and he winds up saying in a gravelly tone, "Try again."

She gasps and furrows her brows when she looks at him. "What.?"

"Try to read me again."

She lightens up considerably, nodding while scooting closer to him. The heat of her body is simply tantalizing. "Alright."

When the proximity between them shrinks, he realizes the weight of his words. _'Damn it! How could I say that?'_

Gelda closes her eyes and he shudders when, tentatively, he starts to feel the warmth of her energy reach out to him.

 _'If she sees inside of me... She'll know everything.'_

Her energy begins to ease beneath his skin, soft and gentle, like the way she's touched him before, filling him up and rankling his nerves.

 _'She'll see my every want and desire, my feelings for her. She'll know...'_

His breathing takes on a more distressed flow when he feels her trying to reach his mind, his thoughts, his memories.

 _'She'll know that what I want most and what I feel most for is... her.'_

Gelda takes in a sharp breath as her power seems to still and he's afraid she must've seen, that she must know now. She pulls back from him entirely and he looks at her open eyes, expecting to see his answer there. There's a strange look of regret there instead of the disgust he thought he would see. "I felt I was getting closer to figuring you out, but then your barrier fortified and I could not get passed it."

"Oh," he is very careful not to sound relieved. "I'm—"

She waves him off and rises to stand with a little smile. "Don't be sorry. My abilities are weak against powerful begins like you. Besides, I'm sure my father intends for me to use this power differently when I'm a little older and he's searching for a suitor he plans to marry me off to." She says it all so simply, so casually as if she doesn't care. But that stricken look before comes back to mind and he knows deep in his very being that she's terrified of her future.

"Maybe you and I should get married then?" He bursts out only to internally begin to fall into the well of panic once the words register in his head. _'That's my idea of easing her fears?'_ She's staring at him wide eyed and he can't let himself believe the shine that takes over her eyes is hope when realistically it's just the candlelight reflecting in them. Quickly to try and correct his emotion spewed words he adds, "That would solve all of your problems, right?"

The shine dims, but doesn't fade completely. Instead she ends up looking calm, content, like she's come to a certain understanding and is more than okay with it. "Sure, Zeldris... I suppose I will take my leave for the evening then."

He feels edgy under the intensity of her stare. "Yes. G-goodnight, Gelda."

"Goodnight." She utters softly before slipping out of his room.

Without pause, he proceeds to flop his face into one of his many pillows and groan dejectedly. "Stupid! Stupid! How could I say that? Now she probably thinks of me as foolish for practically proposing!"

"Uh…" The little sound halts his self-deprecating words and pulls his head up and to the side to see Gelda peeking back into his room, her expression slightly gaping.

"I... just wanted to say thank you."

He's too mortified to do anything but nod jerkily.

She nods back, flashes a smile, then disappears once more.

Now as he crawls into his bed and under his covers he attempts to smother himself with his pillow.


	6. What You Awoke Inside Of Me Pt4

**-Part Four-**

After that visit a sort of routine began to take place. During the day he'd go out with Meliodas and sometimes Estarossa joins them. They'd train in Britannia for hours on end, until Zeldris is sweat drenched, bruised, and bloodied. It's his goal to at least give Meliodas a bruise or two each day as well. He's proud to say that he manages this feat by sheer force of will. The boundless magic that flows through Britannia feeds his strength greatly. That and the souls he devours when he accompanies Meliodas on a raids through various towns and villages. With each passing day he feels himself getting a little closer to his wish of attaining the strength he needs to one day join the Ten Commandments.

At night, Gelda greets him warmly. She ushers him to his room and insists he cleans up. Then by the time he's finished she's back, dressed for bed and bringing with her a hot meal he practically devours. She tells him that she persuades the servants to allow her to bring him whatever meal was served that evening as an explanation of where she gets the food. He's inclined to believe her, had the meals not been different than what is usually made in the castle. This leads her to confess that the meals were of her own creation. With hardly anything to do with her day she finds herself in the kitchen experimenting and hoping that he enjoys what she makes.

 _She's an amazing cook._

Little secrets about each other like these are shared in the nights they spend together. They speak about anything they can think of. Their likes, dislikes, their hopes and dreams and little by little the distance that existed between them upon the bed shrinks until they're nearly shoulder to shoulder. In these times, he can breathe in her uniquely blended aroma which always tends to have a warm honeysuckle overtone that eases the tension within him. And he discovers as they grow closer, that she's like the first snowflake of winter: Delicate, breathtaking, and something that can never be replaced.

Two weeks go by quickly in this fashion and before he even notices, the fourteenth day has arrived.

A strip of light burns against his eyelids easily rousing him from sleep. He goes to press his face more comfortably in his pillow feeling his nose scrunch against the plush to hide away from the sun. In waking he's very aware, noticing things in rapid succession. The scent of honeysuckles are fresh and potent and very near his person. He can hear the faint sounds of slow and steady breathing that isn't his. There's a zinging sensation traveling all across his skin like a warning sign. And finally the curl of Meliodas' presence hovering right near his bed.

His eyes fling open as he all but stops breathing and the first thing he sees is pale blond just barely hidden under his covers. He chokes and turns towards his window where sunlight dances merrily into his room growing stronger by the minute. Without thought he thrust his arm towards his window's direction as the mark upon his forehead burns hot against his skin and his darkness slithers forward like a strike, crawling up the wall then the window itself until it's completely covered. The room is thrown into an ominous obsidian.

Zeldris, arm still extended, gasps as his panic begins to taper only slightly. There's still one thing he has to worry about other than Gelda being exposed to sunlight on his watch. He stills himself to face Meliodas, somehow towering in his presence, like a tsunami ready to drag the younger to an early grave. Meliodas' eyes only flick once to the sleeping Gelda before shifting back to Zeldris in contempt. "So this is what's been causing you to slip up lately."

Zeldris' jaw clenches as words fail him entirely.

" _Don't speak_ ," Meliodas calmly demands having seen his intentions, "Come with me, _now_."

Zeldris is quick to clamber out of his bed and after his brother knowing of the shit he's neck deep in. Meliodas is livid as they exit his room, just seconds from bursting from his icy exterior to rip Zeldris a new one. And Zeldris feels his fists tremble at his sides for getting himself put into such an idiotic position. He and Gelda were just sleeping, but still, she should not have been found there. She should have been a floor beneath his. Now as he stares at his brother's rigid spine waiting for his wrath to turn vengeful eyes upon him, he considers if he should speak or remain the silent follower.

His feet numb against the stone flooring take him a few steps further when he notices Meliodas turning around. And then he sees Meliodas' eyes dark and biting, the mark above his head, wild and vicious. Meliodas' fist comes sharp and quick to his gut, winding him and making his insides feel as if they've imploded in on themselves as Zeldris stands for a second or two before collapsing to his hands and knees in a coughing fit.

"Are you a fucking imbecile?" The quiet hiss practically blares in his ears as he tries to swallow back a gag. "Sleeping with the Princess? The alliance is supposed to be cemented tonight. Do you know what this could mean if discovered?"

Zeldris retains a few breaths before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. He looks up at his brother with a scowl despite the way his insides still quiver nauseatingly. "We didn't have sex. She fell asleep there. That is all."

His brother's eyes are bottomless and unforgiving. "Even if I believe you, you are walking on very thin ice. If that girl is found leaving your room, it won't matter what you say transpired between the both of you. And I can guarantee you father will not be pleased if that happens."

Zeldris pushes himself up inwardly wincing. His mask of indifference is a pale imitation of Meliodas', but it's worth wearing it than cowering under the pressure such possibilities presents. Meliodas was adamant in teaching him this. "Then I suppose I better wake her up and tell her to leave rather than standing here taking your shit."

He usually wouldn't dare say such words if his emotions weren't so riled; he has better control. But Meliodas rises to the challenge and takes a single menacing step forward that has Zeldris paling and his skin cooling as sweat gathers at the back of his neck. "You just remember who you're dealing with." Meliodas looks between Zeldris' eyes for a long chilling moment, then he turns and stalks off without another word.

He lets out the breath he was holding as his stance wilts. He just knows Meliodas won't let this slight go, and rightly so. Zeldris is almost positive the thin ice he was walking upon has already fallen from beneath him as he strides briskly towards his chamber, sure that's the reason for the chill he can't seem to shake.

He recalls the night before and the dessert Gelda had smuggled in for the two. He still remembers the ridiculous way his jaw dropped when she so casually began to eat a few truffles without batting an eyelash. She'd giggled while grabbing another and explained that while it's not necessary for vampires to eat—food's nutrition is worthless to them—the flavors of some foods are still very delicious.

He'd still gaped a bit after being used to not seeing her eat not a crumb since he'd known her and a sort of carefree glow had overtaken her expression in a way he thought was mesmerizing at the time. She went on to describe, after another truffle, in rather clear detail the way food is digested for vampires compared to blood until he'd interrupted and barely contained a grimace. When she only began to laugh more and even start to hiccup, he knew something was off.

That's when he tried one of the chocolates himself and realized they contained a very strong amount of alcohol in their core.

Things had admittedly taken an amusing turn when she convinced him to eat more with her. The laughs never seemed to cease as they conversed through the night. And somehow they must have fallen asleep together.

Zeldris slips into his room, noting that it's still as dark as he left it and Gelda is still snoozing soundly in his bed. _'In my bed…'_ His face warms just a tad as he drifts closer to her thinking of how amazing it would be if one day this wasn't just an accident and she really could be his in such a way. His hand lifts, unsteady and uncertain towards the hair falling in her face. The skin over his cheeks prickles and he moves his hand towards her shoulder, shaking her gently to rouse her.

Bleary blue eyes eventually meet his and after a few beats she sits up in a flash, her eyes now completely wide. "What are you doing in my…?" She glances around while clutching the covers and he notices a flood of color go to her face before she looks at him again now apologetic. "I'm so sorry! I fell asleep here, didn't I?" She's lifting herself out of the bed and straightening the sheets behind her in a nervous fashion in answer of her own question.

Zeldris feels the urgency of the situation is what pushes him to grab her upper arm gently, bringing her attention to him fully. "I hate to be rude," which normally isn't true, but she seems to be the exception to this rule, "but it's really important that you get back to your room and that no one knows that you were here," he tries to explain. His hand slides from her arm to fall limply at his side and he refuses to meet her gaze, displeased with the situation as a whole. He always seems to make mistakes no matter what he does.

"Zeldris, I know how my father would react, so you don't have to worry. I'll be—" When her voice cuts short he brings his eyes up in confusion to see her eyes trained on his mouth. His stomach does a flip and his palms tingle. But she continues in a quiet severity that brings their situation crashing down upon him once more. "Why is there blood on your lips? What happened?"

His hands tense and relax again and again as he stares blankly at his feet. "It's… nothing."

She's silent for a while and all he can hear is her breathing. Then, "Okay, Zeldris. I understand. I'll go." She walks around him fluidly, without pause until she reaches his door. "I'll see you before we leave… won't I?" She asks softly.

With his back to her, he nods and makes a promise, "I won't let you go without saying goodbye, Gelda."

A few seconds pass and then his door closes behind her.

~.~.~

Gelda's day had been far from extraordinary with the only excitement being when she caused a distraction so the guards in front of her door left long enough for her to slip in unnoticed. Packing had eaten up most of her day. Packing... and thoughts of Zeldris and the solemn cloud that surrounded him before she left him. He wouldn't say how he got hurt, but to her it's more than obvious it had to do with her.

 _He wouldn't even look her in the eye._

She lets out a frustrated breath while straightening out the blankets upon her bed for the last time. If she hadn't gotten the bright idea to bring those chocolates last night maybe he wouldn't have gotten harmed. "Why does he do it?" She voices to the quiet room, turning around and sitting on the bed she just made.

She lets her mind think back on the way he'd gazed at her that first night. He'd gone from an irate stone figure to someone almost enamored and for a moment she'd thought she'd accidentally used her abilities upon him. But he wasn't gazing at her the way some of her father's visitors tend to. His look was warm and did fuzzy things to her insides. And after personally meeting him he's been one surprise after another.

He fumbles over himself more than not when it comes to her, but he practically worships the ground she walks on. Gelda gains a soft flush of color on her skin as she gazes downwards with questioning eyes. But _why?_ "Why...?" She hasn't been able to figure out why he would do such a thing when he hadn't even known her to begin with.

But that hadn't stopped her from feeling drawn to him.

Zeldris may be rough around the edges, but that doesn't take away from the qualities that makes her attracted to him and invested in learning as much as she can about him. His determination, his indomitable will, his unusual charm, his power and strength, and that dreamy smile she feels only he lets her see. Zeldris has shown repeatedly his budding affection for her. She just wished he wasn't so blind to the way she looks at him as well, to the way she sometimes feels like she'll lose her footing when he smiles at her.

She does not wish to lose him, but their worlds are bound to grow further apart the moment she leaves from this realm.

"Lady Gelda?" A knock sounds on her door startling her from her thoughts. Mod by the sound of his grumbling tone. "We should be heading down to the courtyard now for final words with the Demon King. He's told us a portal to Britannia can be opened there as well."

Gelda rises and hurries to her door to allow entrance to the rather brutish member of the Royal Vampires. He rushes in after a bow and heads straight for her luggage. "I'll take these for you."

Gelda's smile is weak as she gathers her dress in her hands and begins to follow after him. "Thank you." She shuts the door behind her feeling no attachment to it really as she spent most nights in Zeldris' before retire to her bed. If anything she spent more time in the royal kitchens than her own. If her father only knew…

Since all of the vampires rooms were on the first floor it does not take long for them to traverse through the castle and out two massive doors that open up into the imposing courtyard. The Demonic Lord catches her eye first, he's hard not to with the sheer power and malice that emanates from his figure. But she pushes the automatic shiver away and instead sweeps her eyes around the area cast in moonlight.

She sees the vampires lead by her father all aligned with her father speaking to the Demon King. She sees the demon known as Estarossa poised at his father's side and he gives her an amused smirk that disappears as quickly as it comes when he focuses forward once more. She tenses in surprise at this not having had an exchange with him passed their introduction her first night. So why? She shakes the tension that gathers inside of her off as she and Mod get ever closer and notices Prince Meliodas whose eyes pierce her like lightening. She sucks in a breath and tries to understand why he would be giving her such a look, but he's entirely expressionless. But… She can feel anger, disappointment, and… regret coming from him.

Her heart begins to thud erratically.

It's when her eyes search frantically for the one she wishes to see most, the one who promised to be there, that she realizes why Zeldris' brothers are behaving so oddly.

Zeldris isn't there.

She and Mod come to stand by her father and Gelda barely has it in her to bow politely to the Demon King. She can feel the trembles overwhelming her insides and her emotions welling up. ' _Did they do something? Is he not here because of them?'_ One look in Meliodas' eyes gives her all the answer she needs. A pressure begins to build behind her eyes but she wills it away with a feeble bite to her lip.

It seems she's brought more trouble to Zeldris' life than good and maybe… maybe, just maybe it's best they don't see each other anymore for his sake than hers.

~.~.~

Zeldris moans as he regains consciousness feeling like his world rolling around nauseatingly for a moment. His hands push under him after he takes a few deep breaths and he forces himself up from the rough dirt he passed out on. His vision slowly clears as he blinks around trying to regain his bearings. He knows Meliodas was furious with him, had made sure to push him beyond his limits with the help of Estarossa. And somewhere between trying to counter both of their attacks he'd accidentally thrown his magical attack at Meliodas and his physical one at Estarossa. The result must has knocked him out cold.

Now the moon has risen and he was supposed to be doing something right?

He moans again as he stands to his feet placing a hand upon his head as if to physically force his memories back in place. It's dark out. He's still in Britannia. And he's supposed to be back home to… His eyes widen and his hand falls to his side. _Gelda._ He was supposed to say goodbye to Gelda. He stares blankly at the ground beneath his feet as a pain begins to twist in his chest. Surely she'd be gone by now. _Surely_. And he's promised her, something he never really does, but wanted to do for her.

"Fuck." He hardly manages to get the word out. She'll be so hurt won't she, with him for not being there? She'll probably never believe him if he ever promises something again. In fact she probably won't even want to see him again. "F-fuck," the word is choked, dampened by a salty taste before his churning emotions all erupt in a single curse.

In an instant, he's streak of speed, rage and determination, his focus being the portal back to the Demon Realm. _'I refuse to believe that you've left. I said I would let you leave until I said goodbye. I'm keeping that promise damn it.'_ Trees bend and crack and bushes and grass are uprooted in his wake. And when he starts to feel the welcoming pull of raw and untapped darkness he reaches for it. The transition between realms is too slow in his mind, the magic coursing over him like static against his skin. But when he next opens his eyes to see the demonic castle reaching towards the sky like an omen in the distance he wastes no time in sprinting towards it, leaping and bounding off of crumbling stones and unruly hills to push himself higher and higher.

He tries to push his senses out to see if she's still there in the distance but he's not close enough, not yet. So he grits his teeth and pushes himself faster. Images of her flood his mind, of her little smile, of her laughing, of that shine he first saw, and the distance between himself and the castle dissolves. The pressure of wind ceases its roar in his ears and yet the absence of rapid motion leaves him jittery as he brushes past the guards through the front gates of the castle. The Great Hall opens up to him and the quick steps of his boots resounds around the corridor, echoing off the walls like a lonely reminder he refuses to accept.

At this point his pulse has replaced the blare of the wind as he breathes erratically from his rush. Once more he plans to push his powers outward for her, just knowing she still has to be there somewhere. When a set of heels growing louder in resonance catches his attention for a moment and then all together when the person wearing them turns the corner ahead of him and stops dead in her tracks. Zeldris freezes in place as well and all that can be heard is his rushed breathing as they both gaze at each other, crystal blue boring into bottomless black.

Then Gelda's chest quivers with her inhale and she strides towards him and he moves forward to meet her hit with such relief it's overwhelming, _consuming_. The smile that curls his lips is truly his own. An arm's distance apart and Gelda reaches for him, cupping his cheeks with shaky hands. They still and he swallows while seeing the happiness reflected deeply in her eyes, the tears that rim them. Tears of happiness _for him_.

"Zeldris... you're okay."

Hearing her voice instantly sends a flutter of content through him and he can feel his skin warm under her palms. "I… You aren't… mad? I'm exceedingly late."

Her hands slide from his face like trails that smolder until they stop on his chest, then her head rests on his shoulder and her breathless sigh against his neck is what causes him to stiffen. "Absolutely not." She shakes her. "I told them I'd forgotten something in my room. It must have been meant for us to see each other like this," She confesses.

He tries to remember his breathing as his pulse flutters, jumps, and skips about. This closeness is a reward, one he does not deserve for many, many reasons. But he won't squander it. He's certain that her absence will not be missed for too much longer, that the vampires are supposed to be leaving now, so he has one last thing to do. "So then I can keep my promise?" He prods her gently in a low tone.

She seems to gasp as if remembering and pulls away from him. Her expression looks tight as if she's keeping so much in, and her eyes look resigned, but she smiles for him. "Will we still be able to see each other?" The tremble in her smile, desperate and hopeful, is a sign of vulnerability she rarely lets show.

So putting his nerves aside, he grabs her hand up in his and meets her eyes steadily. "I'll make sure of it." And just like the day he first laid eyes on her, his throat tight with emotions, Zeldris leans over her hand and lays a kiss upon it tenderly. "Farewell, Gelda…"

She squeezes his hand before she slides it from his and brushes her knuckles along his cheek fleetingly, stealing his breath away. "Farewell, Zeldris." She turns her back to him and leaves the way she came, eventually disappearing from sight.

Zeldris lifts a hand to his cheek and for a time thinks of how dirtied and beaten up he must have appeared and how she didn't care. She never does. He knows his father will be furious with him for "skipping" the send off and appearing rude. And he'll most likely be assigned a punishment of sorts because of it. But that's hardly even a concern to him. He'll fight through any challenge he has to. Now that he's found what's most important to him.


	7. Her Only Suitor

This is a piece written entirely by **lickitysplit** , with a sentence or two added by me. I love this and I consider this apart of my "snippet universe".

* * *

 **-Her Only Suitor-**

There is another banquet scheduled for that evening, and Zeldris is _not_ interested in going. He spent another whole day training with his brothers. This time he was only allowed to use magic attacks, and with Meliodas' use of _Full Counter_ it was almost torturous. He just wanted to _hit_ something, and was almost glad when Estarossa suggested a spar later that day. Unfortunately his bruised and sore body would not cooperate, and the prince was given a second dose of humiliation that afternoon.

The last thing he wants to do now is put on formal clothes and watch people he doesn't know eat for two hours, but he does not have a choice. Once he is cleaned and dressed, he makes his way down to the banquet hall. The delegation from the Vampire clan is still staying in the castle, so state affairs had not only been more lavish than normal, but also more mandatory than normal. The demon king wants Izraf and his subjects as his allies, desiring their power and wealth for his war. It seems ridiculous to Zeldris—after all, who could possibly compare to the strength of the demons?—but in the end, it is not his decision, and as the king's son he must present himself.

After the required greeting with the kings, Zeldris heads off to find a place to hide. Perhaps hide is the wrong word: _go unnoticed_ is more akin to what he needs. Meliodas and Estarossa are nowhere in sight, thankfully, so the prince takes a drink from a passing tray and heads towards one of the benches near the balcony.

It is a warm night, and the bodies and lights that fill the hall make the air even warmer, so he is glad for the breeze coming from the open doorway that leads to the large balcony. Dignitaries swarm together, talking and drinking and laughing, the din echoing through his head. And on top of it all, there are _humans_ present. Zeldris is disgusted at the looks of them, many of them searching around nervously, awe-struck by the palace and the strength of those that surround them. He had been briefed that there are visitors from more than one of the smaller human kingdoms in attendance, looking for power and ready to make deals with the demon king in order to get it. He supposes it makes sense for the demons to make as many allies as possible, but in the end it would be futile. The demons cannot be stopped.

The coming war is all anyone speaks of, and Zeldris is tired of it already. It had been months of this talk, yet nothing seems to be _happening_ , and the prince wishes that one side or the other would just get on with it. He leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees, stretching his sore back. The prince scans the crowd, taking in the groups, observing for what is underneath as he has been taught… when his eyes land on Gelda.

The vampire princess stands near the center of the room, holding an almost empty glass of wine and talking to three young men. She is beautiful, absolutely radiant, wearing a flowing dress in deep burgundy. It shows off her fair skin and the blonde hair that is twisted into curls around her face. The princess smiles politely as the three talk over one another, and when she speaks, they stop and listen attentively. Gelda is by far the only redeemable thing about this cursed state visit, which seems to be stretching on interminably. But Zeldris doesn't completely mind, because he is more nervous about what will happen when she leaves.

They had been spending a great deal of time together, as much as was possible, anyway. He had volunteered to escort her whenever she needed to leave the castle, and looked for reasons to see her during the day when he could escape from one of his trainers or tutors. And Gelda actually seemed happy to see him, easily agreeing to whatever lame excuse he made up to keep them in each other's company.

It had all paid off one night when she slipped her hand in his, and then later, when he finally worked up the nerve to kiss her. Zeldris is still rather stunned by her beauty, by her grace and her spirit and the air of sophistication that plays tantalizingly against her sweetness. She is witty and gracious and sometimes he catches her looking at him in a way that makes his skin go uncomfortably hot. Yet despite how amazing she is, and how very _not_ he always seems to become around her with all his fumbling and stammering, Gelda likes him.

The kiss they had shared was sweet and perfect, and to his excitement the vampire wanted more. In the days since, they had continued their flirtation, both learning how to please the other with eager lips and tentative tongues. There is nothing that compares to the moment when the prince can slip his arms around her small waist, feel her hair in his fingers, receiving a soft press of her mouth on the corner of his. Zeldris smiles a bit to himself thinking of how they had found a little spot just the evening before, and Gelda had sat on his lap, her hands sliding up his arms—

Just as she is doing now to the human leaning in to speak to her.

Red heat blazes up the back of his neck, the prince sitting up a bit straighter as he watches. The human, _whoever_ he is, is bent over slightly to say something in Gelda's ear, and her hand is on his arm as she laughs. Then she is nodding, a little blush coming to her face; there is another moment, then another, before he straightens back up, and she removes her hand.

The conversation continues, but Zeldris barely registers anything else, his eyes trained on the spot on the bastard's arm that she had touched. Is this what she does when he is not around? Is she finding corners of the castle to meet up with other princes? The demon swallows, trying to keep his rolliing emotions at bay. This is Gelda, not some random female in the castle. She is gracious and honorable, and surely she is being polite to the men who are jockeying for her attention.

But then another inclines his head, and Gelda smiles sweetly up at him through her lashes, and now Zeldris wants to tear them each apart.

Gelda smiles politely at the three men who are regaling her with the story of a recent hunt they had gone on, bored nearly to tears. They are somehow related to one of the princes from one of the the human kingdoms, not that she cared to truly learn their names or the name of their home. They are the third—or was it fourth?—attempt by a guest to catch her fancy. Gelda supposed they must have assumed there was a better chance in numbers, and had kept her effectively trapped for the better part of a half hour. At first they seemed interesting enough, and the vampire must admit it was nice to receive such attention from three handsome young men. But their overly silly nature is grating on her nerves, especially now that they are each subtly trying to get her alone.

When she introduces herself as Gelda, Princess of Edinburgh, their eyes light up like sparks. Immediately she knows once the words were gone from her lips that they now only see her title. One leans down to make a crude joke at one of the other's expense; she gives a polite chuckle, trying to think of how to extricate herself, when his hand goes to slip around her waist. Gelda cannot help the blush that forms on her face in fury, but the princess knows better than to make a scene. She presses a hand on his arm to stop him; he whispers in her ear how lovely she looks, and she nods.

The advance is averted, but another sees his chance, bending forward to comment on her dress. The vampire looks up at him with a tight-lipped and rather sour smile. She wonders for a moment if they are intoxicated, as they do not seem to be picking up on her cues to leave her be; then she figures that even if they are, they probably don't care enough.

 _Where is Zeldris?_ The demon princes should have been there by now, and Gelda had been hoping he would escort her and save her from the drudgery of the evening. Deciding to give up being discreet, she looks around the room, ignoring the conversation for a moment, but the demon is nowhere to be seen. With a sigh Gelda finally turns back to them and interrupts, saying, "Excuse me, I'm sorry, but I need to go and… find my father." She flashes a smile and remarks, "It was a pleasure to meet you all."

But as she turns to go, one grabs her elbow. "Your Highness, let me accompany you," he says, and she realizes it's the one that tried to slip his arm around her before.

"It's really not necessary," she says, pulling her arm away. "Excuse me."

Before any of them can say another word she practically runs off, squeezing in between the groups in the room. Seeing her father is the _last_ thing she wishes to do. He had lectured her plenty before the banquet about the importance of _forming strong allies_ and _presenting strength_ and other such nonsense that meant she needed to be on her very best behavior. Of course Gelda wanted to please Izraf, and wanted the best for her clan… but did that have to include entertaining the very tiresome sons of his potential allies?

She hands her glass off to a passing servant and takes a little cake from a passing tray. Vampires don't _have_ to eat, as a rule, but she does enjoy the occasional sweet treat. No one seems to be paying her much attention, so she pops the little truffle into her mouth. It tastes delicious, and the princess closes her eyes and sighs.

Just then someone takes her hand, and with her eyes still closed she smiles. Gelda weaves her fingers with his, slowly swallowing before licking her lips. "I wondered where you were," she whispers, and when she feels his lips brush the back of her hand, she giggles. Zeldris was never what she would consider _charming_ , even though she found him endearing in his own way. His bold move brings a little flutter inside of her, and Gelda opens her eyes with a grin.

The man who is kissing her hand sweetly is _not_ Zeldris. Gelda clears her throat and tries to gently remove her hand, but the zealous gentleman squeezes her tighter, looking up at her now as he brushes his lips back and forth on her skin. She raises her eyebrows in an uncomfortable incredulity and offers a gentle, "Excuse me, sir?"

"Your Highness," he murmurs against her skin. The princess frowns now, tugging again, but the man slides his other hand down her arm, pushing up the ruffled sleeve of her dress to expose her white skin. "You are more beautiful than I've heard. I'm so glad to meet you at last."

"Thank you?" she says uncertainly. "But I'm sorry, I don't know-"

"Prince Felan," he answers, his smile sliding over his face like oil. Gelda sighs to herself; another one to soak up her time and attention. Part of her looks forward to the day when her father will choose her husband, just so that these uncomfortable encounters will _stop_. Of course, when that happens, then she will no longer be able to see Zeldris…

That snaps her attention back to the prince, who is tracing circles up and down her arm as he speaks. "I told my father to speak to yours, of course, but I just couldn't wait. You'll enjoy the North, Your Highness, I'm sure."

"I'm sorry, what?" she asks, shaking her head.

The prince frowns. "Haven't you been listening to anything I said?"

Offended now, he lets go of her hand, and Gelda gratefully pulls it behind her back. Again her eyes sweep the room, looking for Zeldris, or at least _something_ that can rescue her from this latest one—when she finally spots him. Gelda heaves a sigh of relief, her face breaking into a smile as she raises a hand in a little wave, before she notices the deep scowl the demon wears.

Zeldris narrows his eyes as Gelda finally sees him. He wonders what she is playing at with the wave—is she happy to see him? His jaw grinds painfully as the smile she flashed at him slowly disappears, and she looks at him questioningly. The newest gentleman is talking to her, leaning in again to catch her attention; now distracted, the vampire looks back at him, and suddenly Zeldris is angry she would turn away from _him_.

He had to endure her flirting with the first three, and the way they would casually lean in to brush their lips on her, the easy touches between Gelda and the disgusting humans. Then she went in search of someone, and Zeldris had followed to watch. Another one, perhaps? It makes no sense to him at all. Gelda had _never_ seemed the type to do such a thing. Of course, Zeldris' knowledge of what women are and are not capable of is limited at best.

And now another, his mouth actually _on_ Gelda, his hand sliding on her skin, and she is smiling at him! It's nearly too much for him to take as his chest squeezes painfully, not wanting to watch but unable to stop.

Then, the worst possible scenario: Estarossa slides up next to him. He senses his brother only a moment before the older says, "I suppose that kiss didn't go very well, did it?"

"What?" Zeldris snaps, looking up at him angrily.

Estarossa shrugs, looking ahead, and Zeldris _knows_ he is watching Gelda as well. "If the girl had any interest, she wouldn't be walking around with every other important suitor, would she?" he snorts.

Suitors? That… makes sense. Suddenly Zeldris feels a bit of hope. Perhaps her father is making her meet these men? After all, she did wave to him, and smile at him. Maybe he has this situation wrong?

He curses his lack of experience in these situations as Estarossa says, "So are you just going to stand there?"

Now it is Zeldris' turn to laugh. "What are you talking about?"

Estarossa leans down a bit to speak quietly to the younger demon. "I know if _I_ had claimed a woman and someone else tried to take her, I would not hesitate."

"I haven't claimed her," he snaps. "We haven't—I'm not—"

"You want her though," responds Estarossa. "You said so yourself. And yet here you stand, watching another touch her instead of putting him in the ground."

Zeldris looks down at the floor, a bit of heat on his face again. That is _exactly_ what he wanted to do—still wants to do, in fact. "I can't exactly walk over to a prince and cut his head off in the hall," he mutters.

"No doubt!" Estarossa shouts with a laugh, startling several of the guests around them. Zeldris looks up and sees Gelda glancing his way again, blinking expectantly at him, her eyebrows rising slightly. "Best of luck to you then," his brother chuckles, clapping him hard on the back and making him wince.

From the corner of his eye Zeldris watches him walk away, angry with his insinuations but knowing he is right. With a deep breath he walks forward, his heart doing a small flip when he sees Gelda catch her breath with his approach. He decides to handle this quickly, just think of an excuse to take her to the side and ask himself what is going on. There was no reason to cause potential damage to any of the alliances being formed by losing his temper. He is a warrior, yes, but also a prince; princes use diplomacy.

Gelda turns at his approach, relief washing through her. Fern or Farm or whatever-his-name-is is still going on about the wedding they will have, and she sucks in a little breath of excitement to see Zeldris coming closer. His face is still cold and hard, but it often is until they are alone together; Gelda wonders if he will always wear this mask when he is around others. She also notices the stiff way he walks, and the way he holds his head up at a slight angle, which tells her he had another brutal day of training. It pains her to know that he is enduring such difficulties, but if this is the demon way, what could she possibly do about it other than lend a soothing kiss or two?

When Zeldris is next to her, the prince finally stops speaking, but neither pay attention as they stare at one another. His eyes are as unreadable as always, but she can sense the agitation coming from him. The prince clears his throat rather loudly, making Gelda jump; not knowing exactly what to do, she smiles politely and says, "Zeldris, I'm so glad to see you. May I introduce you to—ah—"

She blanks on the prince's name, blinking back at him in surprise, but to her relief the prince is not paying her any attention either, instead slowly regarding the demon up and down. "You are a demon by the looks of it," the prince scoffs, nodding towards the mark on Zeldris' forehead. "Perhaps you don't realize it, but it's rude to interrupt a conversation."

Zeldris' eyes narrow to slits for a moment as he regards the man before looking at Gelda. "I need to speak with you."

Gelda nods eagerly, but the prince moves a bit to step between them as he says, "Absolutely not, _I_ am speaking to _Her Highness_."

"Step back," Zeldris says, his voice full of malice and sending a shiver through her.

The prince smirks, drawing himself up to stand over them, and Gelda feels herself getting angry. "I won't be intimidated by such a _small_ demon," he says. Then the prince reaches out to grab at her arm, but she jerks out of the path of his hand with an angry shout, moving closer to Zeldris.

The demon, however, must have seen his intention, because just as she presses against his side, he pushes her behind him, rearing back with his other hand to land a blow directly on his jaw. The prince goes down with a shout, slamming to the ground, those around them turning and gawking. But Zeldris takes no notice, stepping up to grind his foot into the prince's shoulder, eliciting another shout of pain from the man groaning on the ground.

"Do not touch the princess again," he says. After a moment he slowly steps back, the prince's chest heaving with his erratic breaths, and Zeldris turns to look at her.

His voice, his posture, his face, everything about him in that moment scream danger, violence, pain; but Gelda only feels protected. He takes her by the elbow and pushes her to the side, the people making way for the prince and princess as he steers her determinedly back towards the balcony. Then they are outside in the night air, Zeldris still pulling her until they are on the far side, away from where people can see unless they are looking.

Finally he lets her go, his shoulders tense as he turns on her. For a brief second she wonders if he will lash out at her next, but the way he is clenching his fists and pressing his mouth in a tight line shows her how he is struggling to maintain his control. She barely dares to breathe for a moment, just staring, until he finally bites out, "What have you been doing?"

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "He… I don't even remember his name." The absurdity of what just happened hits her suddenly, and Gelda lets out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "I can't believe you just did that!" she exclaims.

She giggles again, unable to help herself, but Zeldris does not stop his deep scowl. "I've seen you all night, Gelda. You've been talking to every man in there!"

Her eyes go wide in surprise. "Zeldris! What are you talking about? They approached me, and I can't be rude." She tilts her head to the side, her lips twisting into a sly smile. "Are you—are you jealous?"

Zeldris clears his throat uncomfortably, the tension slowly leaving his body. Stupid Estarossa, getting him worked up over nothing. He _knew_ Gelda would never be like that… still, it had been more unnerving than he had expected to see her with others, and even more unnerving was his reaction to it. "No," he finally answers. "I know you will have—suitors, I suppose. But that last one—"

Suddenly her arms are around his neck, and she presses her mouth on his as she presses her body against him. He quickly grabs her up, his hands sliding over her hips and up her back, tilting his face as she kisses him. "I don't want any suitor but you, Zeldris," she whispers against his lips.

He pulls back a bit, his eyes looking down at her lips. "You want me? As a suitor?"

Gelda nods, her smile softening at the hint of uncertainty in his question. "You were the one who suggested we get married after all." She reminds him, quite fond of the memory. She waits expectantly, her eyes tracing over his face, but Zeldris does not respond the way she assumes; instead, he leans in to kiss her again, and she kisses him in return.


	8. A Gift From The Heart

A/N: BettyBest2 here, just wanting to say Happy Birthday to a dear friend of mine, Cerulean Grace! This is my first ever collab with lickitisplit and we both joined up to do this story for Cerulean Grace. I hope you love your gift! You are such a wonderful person who deserves so much.  
A/N2: This is lickitysplit here to say a huge happy birthday to Cerulean Grace. I hope that this fic does its part to make all your Zeldris/Gelda dreams come true. I also must say thank you to BettyBest2 for agreeing to collab with me. We've been looking for something to do forever and I'm so glad you agreed to do this idea!

* * *

 **-A Gift From The Heart-**

Gelda carries a pile of heavy books to a corner of the library where she is fairly certain she can remain undetected from any prying eyes. In this particular corner is a rather comfortable little chair, and it is in this that she settles herself, sorting through the titles that she pulled from the dusty shelves for reading.

There are far more respectable hobbies that the princess could be undertaking during a quiet afternoon, but when Gelda finds herself quite unexpectedly without a tutor—or without a chaperone, for that matter—she had quickly hurried to the library, determined to get in a few hours of relaxation. Visiting the demon realm and being on display in front of _everyone_ for the extremely important state visit had taken its toll on her, and Gelda is happy for some quiet and peace. She had always found the solitude in the vampire castle to be overwhelming at times, but now it was almost comforting.

With the worn feel of one book's cover held carefully in her hands, Gelda scans the title briefly and feels a tingle of delight go through her, realizing it's a title she used to read often when she was younger. It had been a favorite of hers. As she opens the cover and flips through worn, crinkled pages, she recalls the book's contents. It holds a great wealth of her clan's history, telling stories of heroes, warriors, and villains alike. As a princess studying her origins, this book helped her learn the most.

"I wonder if the stories are still as magical as I remember them," She ponders aloud with a ghost of a smile, flipping through the pages for any stories that might catch her attention.

Each story was like being engulfed in the ancient power of her clan. She could almost see the formations and structures they once lived in, towering and intricate, a sanctuary of the time. She can practically feel the elegant clothes, heavy and woven with fine stitching as her people danced in balls. A spark of excitement alights in her eyes, the only noticeable light in her expression and Gelda lands on a random story, eager to be sucked into her clan's past again.

Her eyes absorb the words quickly, taking in the information like one would spring water on a blistering day. The story unfolds in her mind, a tale she'd long since forgotten. It's one that brings a tiny smile to her lips and a shocked widening to her eyes. The tale is that of a savior named Zoldner, someone that holds parallels to a certain demon she knows. And as she finishes the tale with a certain sparkle in her eyes, a sudden thought comes to her, one that makes her clutch the edges of the book with trembling fingers.

"Zoldner was an amazing hero… He would be the perfect fit for Zeldris' namesake day!" Her voice is low but laced with an edge of thrill. Already her mind begins to run over ideas of what she can do as a gift. The anniversary of Zoldner's heroics is practically already there!

Gelda closes the book and sits it down neatly atop of the other's, thinking of the celebrations that take place on one's namesake day. Vampires hold deeply on to ancient traditions and namesake day is one of those. Since vampires experience long lives, coming across a vast number of materials and objects that mean little to them, it is essential to gift them with something of great meaning; otherwise, you are giving off the impression that that person is of little worth to you.

There's no specific way to celebrate a namesake day. Unlike humans who throw elaborate festivals or parties, throwing wealth and monetary value around without care, vampires like to simply present their offerings and well wishes. An expression of care can also be given if they're really close.

Gelda feels a soft rush of warmth through her cheeks as she thinks of just how close she and Zeldris are.

"So what can I make for him?" Because making the gift is almost a given. She leans back in her chair, for a moment slipping out of her poised princess persona as her eyes watch the shadows from the flickering flames upon the torches dance across the stone walls. "A four course meal?" While he would definitely enjoy it and devour it without pause, that doesn't exactly come from her heart. She thinks of her talents, of her hidden few, finding little use in her magic, and ability to ride a horse with ease.

Gelda's bright blue eyes go down to her left hand curled atop the smooth tabletop and lifts it, examining her dainty fingers with a critical eye. "I could maybe… draw something for him." And she could. Her skills with drawing are exemplary at best, so pulling an image from her mind and putting it to parchment would not be difficult. But it can't simply be just any image.

The corner of the worn book she sat down catches her eye and a her lips tip upwards pleased. "I'll depict the tale of Zoldner, a hero." _'Who's so much like Zeldris, my hero…'_ She adds silently while catching her lip between her teeth bashfully.

Plans made, Gelda sweeps up the books she collected in her arms intent on placing them back. Once done she needs to gather plenty of parchment, ink, and paints. She'll be locked away in her chamber for quite awhile getting everything ready before Zeldris' namesake day arrives.

* * *

Time seems to fly right from under Gelda as when she looks to the fading candle pooled in wax on her nightstand, she knows the time has nearly come to present her gift. Gelda stares down at her hands stained in various hues from the inks and paints she chose to work with. Then her eyes go to the muted golden color of the leather cover that contains all of her drawings of Zoldner's tales painted out in precise detail. A white sheet splattered in spilled colors lays beneath it, but the book itself is pristine. A smile blossoms across her lips tenderly. The book will be perfect for him.

Gelda quickly goes to the washroom and cleanses her hands, also looking for any possible spills of colors on her dress or skin. Gelda takes her hair, which had been gathered in a low plait at the back of her head and begins to brush and twist it over her shoulder once more. She tries not to rush too much as excitement warms beneath her chest. Gelda had already been escorted out of the castle grounds for her evening meal earlier by one of the palace guards upon the insistence of her father. And while this would normally sadden her as her time with Zeldris for the evening would be gone, she still plans to call for him. Nothing will get in the way of giving him her gift.

Gelda returns to her chamber and scoops the book up, cradling it to her chest. She swiftly exits the room and begins to make her way through the halls of the castle. The halls are long and barren, only marked with the occasional torch to light one's way. It would be easy to become lost in the twists and turns of the corridors, but Gelda knows her way by heart, hearing the sound of her heels echoing as a comforting reverberance.

When she reaches the familiar messenger of the castle, the old vampire doesn't even ask what her request is. He simply pens down a quick note on a parchment, folds it crisply with an official seal, places it an a satchel, and heads for the castle gates in seek of the nearest portal to the demon realm closest to Edinburgh.

Gelda follows after him only to the castle doors with a kind smile on her lips. But once she's left alone in wait of Zeldris, her mind begins to wander. What will he think of the book weighing in her arms? Surely he'll be surprised, maybe even pleased with her. She looks down, hiding the flush that goes up to her hairline as she imagines him taking her in his arms, surrounding her in a breath stealing kiss. He flounders, fumbles, stutters, and tumbles over himself around her often. And it's so incredibly endearing. But those times when that all falls to the wayside and he commands the situation, she finds her stomach swooping just as much.

So lost in her musings she doesn't notice the messenger return not long later as the night air becomes a bit chillier, swirling around her and raising goosebumps across her flesh. She doesn't notice much until warm rough palms land upon her exposed shoulders, a burn against the cold and a shock of awareness of how oddly cool a summer night the evening is. The hands rub up and down her arms quickly, creating friction and before she can look up, they wrap around her back, pressing into her shoulder blades as her face warms against the side of another.

"What are you doing standing out here alone? You'll catch your death out here." The tight tone, brimming with concern makes her relax. Zeldris' worry for her is one of the few things that would make him hold her so easily.

Gelda sucks in a good bit of his scent, further relaxing into his arms before she answers. "I was waiting for you."

Zeldris nods. "Come on then, you shouldn't be out in this temperature."

The princess frowns for a moment, and then remembers: he thinks they are going hunting! Everyone probably does, including the castle guards that are waiting expectantly to let them outside. With a slightly embarrassed smile Gelda allows him to escort her, quickly slipping the book into her pocket before anyone can notice. Then they silently make their way out of the gate and across the grounds.

Zeldris leads them down the familiar path towards where the humans can be found, but before they reach the border of Edinburgh she stops him with a hand on his arm. He looks over his shoulder with an expectant expression and suddenly Gelda is at a bit of a loss. "Everything alright?" he asks.

Quickly she nods. "Yes, I… I'm not actually hungry," she admits.

"You're not?" The demon turns to look at her with a bit of a frown. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing like that…" Why is she so nervous? Usually it is Zeldris who is the one fumbling, but now there are butterflies in her stomach.

"Well?" he prompts.

Gelda clears her throat. With a small smile she says, "The truth is, I just wanted to see you."

"You did?" The prince's brows shoot up in surprise, and his stance relaxes a bit as he shifts. "Well, that's fine, I did not think you would need me this evening. But-"

"And I needed to give you something important," she says over him in a rush.

He pulls back then and folds his arms, now looking like he doesn't quite know what else to do with his hands. "You… have something for me?"

The perplexity in his voice meshes wonderfully with the red that fights a winning battle to spread across his cheeks, she decides. "Yes." Carefully she reaches into her pocket and pulls out his gift. She looks down at the golden book in her hands for a moment with care, recalling all the work and love she put into it before extending it out towards the demon that means infinitely more. "Here. I made this for your namesake day, Zeldris."

"Namesake day?" he asks. "My what? What is that?"

Gelda's eyes widen a bit. Do demons not celebrate such a thing? She bites her lip a bit, wondering if he will find the idea foolish. "Vampires, we… we celebrate the feast day of our namesake. Who we are named after." Her hands clutch the book tightly as she gazes down at the ground. "It's something mostly for children, but usually you will receive a gift from your… your loved ones."

Now her face is positively on fire, and she is grateful for the night that surrounds them. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed—"

"No, Gelda, I…" Her eyes snap back up to his face. "Is that for me?"

She nods and cautiously offers it again. His eyes narrow in on the book for a long moment before his hands reach out to take it gently. He looks it over, analyzing it from every angle as her nerves tighten and coil more painfully as the seconds tick by…

Zeldris blinks suddenly and looks up at her as if remembering her presence, then a grin spreads uncomfortable and wide across his face as he slides the book under his arm. "T-thank you, Gelda. I'll read every word."

The tension inside of her all but melts away as she inwardly giggles at his polite response. He probably has no clue of what her gift even means, but she knows for a fact that he does appreciate and value it completely. Seeing his eyes go back to the book he has placed under his arm with hints of curiosity touching his eyes, she feels the need to surprise him a bit. And does so, by stepping up to him on light feet, red in the cheeks, as her lips go to the corner of his mouth, lingering as she shivers from the feel of him.

She pulls back a bit, noting the darker tinge of _something_ rimming his eyes, and tells him, " _Thank you_ , for being you and being here. For being with me…"

That something dark softens and leaks into the core of his eyes as a quiver runs through him. She hears him swallow and then his hand goes to her hip, holding her steady as a breeze passes through cold and sharp. But he should know that she'd never feel anything like cold with someone so warm like him as her protector. His lips are just as firm, yet gentle as they were the first time they kissed as he twists his mouth against hers now, stealing her much needed air. She swears he can hear her heart through her chest as the sensation lingers, keeping her in places as her fingers twist in the material of his jacket.

He pulls back much too soon, and places distance between them. She knows it's because they can be seen by anyone so out in the open, but it still doesn't displace the small frown that arises to her visage.

Zeldris looks down for a moment, then up into her eyes with a flare of adoration that flutters her stomach. "I'll go read this now, Gelda. Let's get you back inside. Fall is approaching much too swiftly."

Now it's her turn to glance down to hide the wide smile that threatens to burst through her cheeks. "Alright, Zeldris."

They return to the castle, taking their time as they walk together, and when they are back safely inside she says quietly, "I wish you safe travels."

A skim of his fingers, shaky along her cheeks. Her head jerks up wanting to catch sight of him one last time, but all she manages to see is his retreating back, already at the walls that surround Edinburgh in the distance.

* * *

Zeldris sighs in relief when he finally returns to his room. Spending his night at Edinburgh protecting the princess does not excuse him from his typical daily routine, so despite only getting an hour or two of sleep after returning to the demon realm he is up and heading back out at the normal hour. He has training in the morning, going through the drills with the other apprentice soldiers, pushing himself despite the fatigue in his body from the lack of sleep. But as the prince, he cannot show any weakness to the others. He must be the best, because that is what is expected of him, by everyone.

After a brief meal, it's back to work, one tutor after another in languages, history, geography. By the time the rest of the afternoon wears on, he is nearly asleep on his feet. Why did he ever volunteer to take on the task of being the vampire princess' guard? Not that he had much of a choice in the matter, but he supposes he could have found _some_ excuse.

But he did not want an excuse. Still doesn't, in fact. Because without this assignment, he would never get to see Gelda now that she is gone.

After sitting through an endless dinner in which the king, his generals, and his advisors debated the merits of declaring war on all the clans or just the goddesses, he has finally escaped to the relief of his own chamber. Even Meliodas and Estarossa had been distracted, mercifully leaving him be for once. His tiredness had begun to wear away the iron grip on his control.

He does not bother to even put on the lights before kicking off his boots, dropping his belt and sword, all landing with heavy thuds upon the floor. He leaves his cloak exactly where it falls on the floor. Zeldris unsnaps the closures on his trousers as he climbs into bed, and as he pulls them from his hips he feels something in the pocket. Frowning, he pulls the item out, nearly toppling off the bed as his legs momentarily tangle in the fabric; when he finally yanks it free, he sees it is the book that Gelda had given him before he left her the night before.

With a huff he looks at the smooth golden cover, feeling the texture of it brush against his fingers and sighs. The princess had seemed excited when she gave it to him, her face aglow in excitement as she went on about some vampire holiday or something. He is about to toss it where the rest of his things lay, but hesitates as he remembers the way her eyes had shone when she presented it to him, the little creases forming in the corners of her cheeks as she grinned at him. And now he is a bit curious, having not received a gift since… well, it had been a very, very long time.

He flicks his wrist and the lamps in the room are lit at once in flickering orange hues, and Zeldris runs his hand over the book. Why would she think he would be interested in book, of all things? Sighing, he turns it in his hand, the canvas cover plain. It does remind him of her a bit, smooth and unblemished in his hand.

He is sure she will expect him to read it, and will certainly ask him about it when they see each other again. Zeldris glances at the window, seeing the moon beginning to rise, the shadows deepening from gray to black. Deciding to take a peek inside, he opens the front page, wondering what it is about. Not that he is _opposed_ to reading, as a rule; but Zeldris prefers action to such things, considering it a silly way to waste time. He despises wasted time.

There is no title, and his eyes widen as he recognizes Gelda's curved script on the first page. Quickly he flips through the book, and sure enough, it is her writing, along with beautifully drawn sketches on many of the pages. _Did she make this herself?_ he wonders in amazement. Every time he learns something new about the princess, he is stunned by her all over again.

Returning to the front, Zeldris begins reading, his chest drawing a bit tight. He can practically hear her voice speaking to him through the words on the page:

 _Zeldris,  
The story that follows is one from the vampire clan's history, and the hero of this story I believe could be your namesake. Since it is his sacred day today, that makes it your name day too. I hope you enjoy this gift. I know it must not be anywhere near as magnificent as the gifts a demon prince is used to receiving, but I pray you are pleased with it all the same.  
Yours,  
_Gelda

The prince cannot help the bitter huff that escapes him when he finishes reading the dedication. Gifts for the demon prince? He looks around his chambers, filled with everything and anything he could possibly need, and not a single thing truly his. Demons did not give gifts, unless it was in some kind of tribute, or a way to curry favor from another. And who would need to gain the favor of a third son of the king?

He turns the page, smiling to see it is still Gelda's own beautiful script, as simple and charming as she, beautiful and feminine. _The Story of Zoldner_ is written at the top, and he begins to read.

* * *

A thousand years ago, Edinburgh was the new stronghold of the vampires. The king had established himself as lord of the realm, and the vampires took the land for him, holding it against threats from throughout Britannia who envied them for their strength and power. But Edinburgh stood fast, never falling to the enemy, and thrived under the rule of the king.

Then one day, an army descended on the vampires, slaughtering the people in their wake. They were terrible creatures, with the head of a wolf and the body of a human. They had no magic, but wielded monstrous weapons, showing no mercy on even the women and children of the clan. They hacked and murdered their way through the vampire settlements around Edinburgh, clearing a path straight to the castle.

When they reached the gate, the beasts overwhelmed the soldiers, with bloodshed and loss and misery on both sides. Finally the gate was forced open, and into Edinburgh walked the prince of the clan that called themselves the Wulven.

The prince demanded the king be brought before him. His aim was to murder the king of vampires and take Edinburgh as his own. Everyone knew what would happen, but before the king could meet the usurper, his only daughter hurried to the gate. The princess was a beautiful young girl name Mora, who the king loved dearly; she could not bear to see her father die, so she threw herself in front of the prince and begged for his life.

Whether the prince of the Wulven was moved by her tears or her beauty it was never certain, but he granted her request, but only if she promised to go with him and be his bride. Mora was frightened, but the lives of her people and her king were at stake, so she agreed. Without even allowing a goodbye, the prince snatched up the princess and retreated with his army of beasts into the wilds of Britannia.

The king was beside himself with grief. He ordered the soldiers of his clan to give chase to the Wulven and bring his daughter home, but their cowardice won out and the generals refused. What was the loss of one princess, when their own lives would certainly end? Not even the king's wrath was enough, and in a final desperate act he begged his people for aid.

Among the vampires there was one young one named Zoldner. He was not strong, or powerful, or remarkable in any way. But he had secretly loved the princess his entire life, and when he learned of her terrible fate he vowed that day to find her and bring her back to Edinburgh. That hour he set off, tracking the Wulven back to their own country. For even though Zoldner was not a knight or a soldier among the vampires, he had his own set of skills in tracking and moving undetected through the world.

Many days and nights he followed the Wulven, until finally he found the prince. Zoldner was relieved to see that the princess was unharmed, but it was obvious from the talk among the clan that the prince was planning to marry her that very night.

Armed with only a long knife, Zoldner knew he had little hope of taking the Wulven in combat. So he watched them an entire day, waiting for the right moment to strike, sweeping his blade in front of him over and over and over until his movement was precise, his arm so fast that it could not be seen. As he observed the Wulven, he saw the weakness in their stance, and suddenly he knew how to defeat them.

When nightfall came, and Zoldner was at his full strength, he stepped into their midst. The vampire's movements were so exact, so blindingly quick, that the beasts were on the ground in moments, now divested of their heads and limbs. He faced the prince last, swinging the blade in an impossibly accurate swipe that severed both of the creature's arms. The Wulven were defeated.

* * *

Zeldris turns the page eagerly, sitting straight up when he realizes he has reached the end. He frowns, turning the book over as if he'd find the missing pieces there, while looking for a tear. Did he somehow misplace the rest of the pages?

But no, there is the back cover, signaling the end of the tale. He sits back against the pillows sinking into them, uncaring of the late hour, not feeling the tiredness in his eyes and limbs from reading. The story had completely engulfed him, and now his mind races, wondering what happens to the vampire and the princess in the end. When he closes his eyes, Zeldris can still see the words scrawled in Gelda's lovely script brought to life by her detailed drawings of the tale's events. Her talents were utterly amazing, how with just a few simple paint strokes she captures the thrilling beauty of the story. The Wulven were terrifying, the castle strong, the princess lovely, and the hero…

Zeldris contemplates Zoldner, whom Gelda says is his namesake. He is sure that the demon king would not name his son after a hero of the vampire clan, but it is not something unpleasant to imagine. Despite not being a soldier, or vampire royalty, Zoldner is brave and bold and determined, traits that the demon values above all others. Zeldris's mouth twists a bit as he pictures the technique the hero uses at the end of the tale. Is it possible to become so precise with a blade that only one swipe would sever a limb? The prince vows to himself to ask his trainer, or even better, his brother Meliodas. _That_ would be a technique worthy of a demon soldier.

But more than that, there is even more to admire about Zoldner. In the story he was not the greatest warrior or an honored hero. Instead, the vampire depended on his strengths and his wits to overcome his enemy. He created such an attack out of pure determination! He put aside his fears to serve his king and country. He risked his own death for the woman he loves.

And now again, Zeldris wonders about the rest of the story. Zoldner defeated the Wulven, but what of the princess? What happened when they returned to Edinburgh? Not knowing is causing an uncomfortable itch inside of him, and Zeldris knows he will get no sleep until he hears the rest.

* * *

Sleep does not find Gelda easily the next night. It had been an entire day since she had given Zeldris his gift, and not a word had come from the demon. Not that she expected him to arrive at her door… but she had hoped for a note, or a message, _something_ that said he had read and enjoyed the book.

All day she wonders if it was a foolish idea. Will he find the pictures childish? Does he even enjoy reading? By the time she crawls into bed that night, her nervousness is like a pit in her stomach.

She sighs and closes her eyes, thinking about how they had kissed after she presented him with the gift. He had seemed pleased, hadn't he? Zeldris had thanked her, had held the book with almost reverence… Gelda chastises herself with a huff. Just because the prince did not send word right away, it does not mean he didn't like the gift. She will hear from him, she is sure of it… she hopes, anyway. With that thought, Gelda finally drifts off to sleep, the feel of his lips on hers and his hands around her waist making her smile.

A noise in the room wakes Gelda up with a jolt, and she lays in bed for a moment, frozen in fear. It comes again, louder this time and Gelda bolts up in fright just as her window is thrust open, the shutters across it being rendered useless by sheer strength. Her mouth is already open, ready to unleash a scream as her intruder lands on nimble feet on her stone floors, but the moonlight washing into the room stops her short. _Zeldris_ stands completely unbothered by the fact that he broke into her room on the fourth floor in the dead of night.

Her yells for help are swallowed back in favor of listening to his mumbled words, his breaking into her room seemingly absent minded from the way he carries on without concern. "The guard patrols were a complete joke… If it was that easy for me to slip by and break in then…"

She sees a worried crease begin to form between his brows and takes the time to call his attention, her heart finally calming from the abrupt disruption from her sleep. "Zeldris? What are you doing here?"

He turns to face her, as if just remembering where he is and a sort of choked look overcomes his face, his mouth bobbing open and closed as his eyes stare at her figure prone on the bed. She's uncertain of why he looks so slack jawed with a sort of intense burn of hunger rapidly swelling in his eyes. That is until she follows his stare and notices her rather risqué nightwear. Her cheeks prickle almost painfully with her blush but she feels she doesn't need to hide. Not from Zeldris. "So… what is it?" She curls her hands into the covers over her thighs.

She notices how his adam's apple jerks with his swallow before his eyes center solely on hers. "...book. The ending?" He shakes his head and blinks a few times before trying once more. "I read the book and it was a thrilling tale. I feel like Zoldner is a... ?" He scrambles for words, his skin gaining an embarrassed flush that she finds very sweet.

"A perfect namesake?" she provides.

"Exactly!" He sounds enthused as he strides towards her closer to the bed. "But the ending didn't feel complete."

Now she blinks up at him. "Oh." The ending she had given was not the full version. But she had not thought he'd want to know more, being satisfied with the battle's conclusion. Now she draws a finger slowly in her bedsheets as her pulse beats against her skin. "Well, I could tell you the rest, if you would like?"

The bed sinks under his weight and she looks up startled. His body sits right next to hers, the heat of him welcoming, comforting, and intoxicating all at once. His eyes, dark like swirling vortexes that suck her in, hold her in place as he answers quietly, "I would love that, Gelda."

"Well," Gelda begins softly after finding the will to pull her gaze away from his, "Zoldner brings the princess back to Edinburgh safely." She states matter of factly.

Zeldris nods. "I figured that much. But then what?"

"What do you mean?" She looks up, giving him a slight questioning eyebrow.

"I mean…" The demon's voice fades before he clears his throat. "What happens between them? Zolder, um, he loved her, didn't he?"

"Yes," answers Gelda with a giggle.

"RIght," Zeldris says and she notices the uncomfortable way his eyes shift before he focuses on her face again. "But was that it between them? Did he… ever tell her? How he felt, I mean?"

Gelda nods and now she gains a sort of wistful tone as she recounts the way the story went. "The king tries to give him a reward, but Zoldner turns it down. He says he would give his life for the princess because he loved her so. And when she heard that, the princess fell in love with him too."

"She did?" The almost hopeful tone he gains causes a tingle of warmth to spread from her heart and flare through her limbs, sharp, but pleasant. She sees his hand placed between them and swallows against her jumping nerves to slide her palm against his.

She meets his gaze under her eyelashes as his hand closes around hers, their fingers weaving together and she continues. "Yes. The king gave his permission for them to marry, and Zoldner became the king of Edinburgh. And it was all because he loved the princess."

Zeldris shifts a bit closer to her and her heart jumps a bit in excitement. She can feel the heat of his breath, smell his alluring scent, and her hand tightens around his, a tremble coursing through her viciously. She can tell this is going to be a rather passionate affair from the look within his eyes, intense, searing, and searching through her soul; not a scrap of his usual hesitation can be seen and Gelda presses closer wanting to feel his mouth on hers that instant.

Their lips nearly touching, Gelda closes her eyes and waits for the feel of his. But instead, Zeldris chuckles. "I guess being in love with a princess can make you do something… unexpected."

"Like climbing through a window?" She jokes lightly, slowly calming from the rush a possible kiss with Zeldris had brung her.

Suddenly Zeldris goes tense, as if he had just become aware of where they are. "Gelda, I'm sorry—you were sleeping, weren't you? And I—"

He goes to stand, but Gelda's hands on his arm stop him. "I'm not going back to sleep yet. You could stay for a bit, if you wanted. Since you came all the way here." She hesitantly offers in a quiet tone, keeping her eyes to where she grips his arm.

After a few tense moments of silence, Gelda looks up to see Zeldris gazing down at her with surprise. It quickly dissolves away however as he sits back upon the bed. She watches with baited breath as he kicks off his boots and removes his scabbard, both going on the floor before he turns to her with a tiny, uncertain smile. Gelda warms him with her grin and tugs her blankets back, so that he can climb in with her. As he scoots in next to her, his arm snaking around her waist as her head goes to his shoulder, she can't help but think that her bed has never felt warmer.

"Gelda," he prompts softly and she feels his lips move against the side of her head, "when is your namesake day?"

"In two days," she answers with a slow sigh as she brings a hand up and over his waist.

"Two days?" he echoes with a twinge in his voice.

She nods against him. "I was named for Queen Gilda, who ruled many centuries ago. Would you like to hear that story?" She lifts her head to look into his expression.

What she doesn't expect is for his lips to capture hers in that same moment. She stills under his touch, before a shudder works through her as he twists his mouth against hers. Gelda gives just as much passion as he does, even going so far as to slide an arm around his shoulders when his tongue slides along the seam of her lips, teasing her. She readily opens her mouth, prepared for him, but he pulls back with noticeably heavy breathing. "Yes," he answers a question she had nearly forgotten she'd asked.

Gelda nods as she too tries to calm her breathing and slides herself closer, leaning halfway onto his lap to settle herself against him. "Well," she says quietly, "did you know that 'Gilda' means 'sacrifice'?"

His eyes are roaming her face as he shakes his head. Gelda smiles to herself, brushing her fingers along the back of his neck, and she and Zeldris talk in hushed voices together about a tale made vivid by her touching tone until the sun comes up, ushering in a new day.

* * *

 **To the Anon who asked if I have an update schedule for this, as in the summary, I update when ideas come. Thanks for reading! :)**


	9. I Think He'll Love It

**I saw a prompt and decided to go for it! Thanks lickitysplit for looking over this and loving it so much!**

* * *

 **-I Think He'll Love It-**

The summons to go to Edinburgh for the evening and guard Gelda was a relief. Training had been particularly grueling that day. He'd had his first true assignment given to him by Meliodas to see just how far the younger had come. Zeldris was to go solo after a criminal in the demon realm and take his life in the name of the Demon King. The tracking, the patience, the thrumming bloodlust charging beneath his skin, all leading up to the final encounter where his blade sprayed blood in the air wound the demon up rather far.

Seeing Gelda will most definitely unwind him… and most likely draw out his softer undertones with hardly any effort.

The castle of Edinburgh stands unmatched in its kingdom, highlighted in the spilling moonlight through the clouds drifting over the night. Anticipation burns beneath his skin, though he hardly shows it except in the way his cheeks flush just a bit and his fingers curl, twitchy, at his sides. He and Gelda have been unbelievably close since his namesake day, stealing kisses from one another when possible, and curling against each other beneath trees to stare at the stars or beneath the sheets whenever he's daring enough to sneak into her room just because he misses her.

His stomach does that funny thing whenever he thinks about her, filling with fluttery feelings and all sorts of gooey warmth that makes him uncomfortable, yet happy all the same. He knows so much about her now, her likes, her fears, her wishes, her dreams, her talents, even her nitpicks. And he knows he's only just scratching the surface. He can see it whenever he's looking into her eyes blue like crystals that she wants to tell him everything about herself, even if that means they have to be together for the rest of their lives.

The demon now dons a full facial flush, turning away from the guard at the front gate in an attempt to hide it. The very prospect is astounding, that one such as she would want to possibly spend her existence with him. He certainly wants to spend his life with her. He loves her undeniably. His hearts thudding erratically in his chest makes his hands tremble. He loves Princess Gelda… not that he's ever told her directly. While he knows so much about her, she's seen glimpses of him through his devotion, his stuttered displays, and the quiet confessions he's made to her when he's felt most vulnerable and yet completely secure with her. Would that even be enough of her to truly return the sentiment? She knows of his heritage, has seen him punch someone in her defense… but she hasn't seen what he can _really_ do.

What he did this afternoon.

"Lord Zeldris," the gruff sound of the guard behind him brings his focus more outward and the demon rounds to face him. "King Izraf asked specifically that you not take an eye off his daughter tonight, is that understood?"

The request is… odd, to say the least. When has he not been careful with Gelda, guarding her with his life? He barks out an affirmative just as another guard brings the Princess into view, and… _oh._ It all makes sense to his temporarily stunned mind now.

Gelda, as lovely as ever in a pastel sundress that suits the muggy evening, hair perfectly braided across her shoulder, literally hangs off the arm of the man escorting her face a deep red as she giggles quite drunkenly. Her blue eyes are hazed. Zeldris watches with an abruptly dry throat, as she nearly stumbles if not for the guard guiding her. "I can… hehehe… walk just fine!"

The guard looks uncertain with how to handle the Princess and quickly hands her over to a stiff Zeldris. "She's all yours."

Zeldris looks down at the girl buckled into his arms, clutching his sleeves as she giggles at something funny to her, and something swoops in his stomach content at the thought. "Assure the King I'll protect her tonight as always." He doesn't wait to hear a response as he wraps an arm around the unstable girl's waist and begins to lead her carefully from the kingdom.

A drunk Gelda? He has to hear the story of how this happened.

~.~.~

Just shy of the village he took Gelda to hunt in last, Zeldris looks to the blond seeing her stare in seeming awe at the rolling clouds and sparkling stars. The cute little circle of her mouth makes him want to lean over and plant a quick kiss on her cerise lips. Instead he focuses on the warmth of her curves pressed against him and the scent of her when he asks, "What made you drink so much, Gelda?"

She jolts in his hold and snaps her head to face him with wide blue eyes that make him more than flustered. "Oh, you're here too!" She laughs light and clear before poking a finger at his cheek. "I drank to celebrate 2000 years of Edinburgh, Sir Guard!" She chortles as he brings them to a stop, blinking slowly at her word choice. She continues as if not noticing his change, her cheeks plump with her smile. "My father shared with me aged wine! I only had one… one glass." She holds up two fingers and he's not sure which number she means.

But still, he looks into her eyes hardly seeing any recognition there and asks as his fingers curl anxiously into her side, "Do you know who I am?"

She squints and hums, then nearly stumbles even though they're not moving, though he makes sure to hold her upright. Then she's shaking her head like a kid, only to make herself dizzier when she leans more heavily against him. "Umm, noo… but you look very cute Sir Guard!" She giggles with a cute hiccup at the end and he realizes it would be quite troubling to kiss her if she doesn't recognize him in this state. "But I'm with someone else handsomer than you named, _Zeldris,_ so you can't have me~!" She stresses the name, clearly finding it hard to pronounce in her drunken state before reaching out a slender finger to poke his cheek once more as if to tease him about his apparent loss.

 _'Ouch. Should I take that as an insult?'_ His lips turn up a bit as he gazes at the slightly swaying vampire, adoring. "He's very lucky."

She surprises him by suddenly beaming more brilliant than a star streaking across the sky. "I am too."

The smile that was setting his skin ablaze morphs into a little pout just when his sensitive hearing hears a grumble from her stomach. "I'm hungry…"

 _'Right. The village.'_ "I'll get you something to eat, Gelda." As much as he trusts her to make her own decisions… tonight her coordination is more than off, so he'll have to do the hunting for her. It only takes a few moments of companionable silence, or more like Gelda's muffled laughs as she finds humor in the simplest things while Zeldris quietly tries to make out her words, before he finds a good tree to sit her under that overlooks the village. He rests his hands on the smooth skin of her shoulders, soaking in her warmth as she blinks up at him completely trusting even in this state. "Stay here. I'll bring you back something to eat."

Before he can remove his hands, she's slurring out, "You promise?"

He lets her see a gentle smile as he nods. "I do."

Her fingers curl in the grass as she grins and leans back against the bark of the tree, the sundress slipping down one shoulder just a tad as she does so. "Okay!"

A short pause and a swallow at the display of skin, then he recalls _she doesn't remember him,_ and he pulls away with a cough. Just when he's about to be out of earshot from her, Zeldris notices sweet tones drifting on the wind.

~.~.~

His mind has monitored the pulse of her energy from the moment she was out of his sight and so far she's stayed in place as he asked. Finding a man out in the dead of night was easy, breaking his neck and throwing him over his shoulder a simple task compared to the tracking he did from early morning until late afternoon when going after his target earlier that day. This kill was practically child's play, he only has to hope that Gelda will appreciate the flavor of blood. That's a matter he'll never truly understand.

When he approaches her, he hears that sound once more, realizing it's humming. Gelda humming to be precise. His eyes widen in quiet wonder trying to listen to the dulcet sounds filling his blood with a pleasant shock, but she sees him and the sound fades with the excitement of his arrival. "Sir Guard, you came back with food!"

He smirks at the childlike persona she takes, inwardly pleased that she seems so happy in this state. "I told you I would, did I not?" He settles the still warm body beside her and watches as her eyes take on a ravenous look, similar yet different than what he's seen when they've kissed heavily sometimes, their hands gripping and roaming as pleasure built under their skins like geysers waiting to erupt. The dark shade roughly coating the blue of her eyes is different as she prepares to lunge at the man, but similar enough that heat burns up the back of his neck and he has to look away.

The enthusiastic moan she emits as she drinks makes him squirm beside her as a hot warmth settles deeply into his skin. If only his Gelda knew what she did to him with just a smile… or a simple noise from her succulent lips. Actually he's sure she probably knows from that barely there smile she likes to give when he attempts to cover up the effects she has on him.

"That was wonderful!" She sighs out drawing his eyes to her face. "I'm so full!" She sways over the man with a contented smile. Then her eyes land on Zeldris and she grins in the way he was just thinking of making him shiver despite the warmth of the night. "You look at me funny."

He looks down and shakily pulls out the handkerchief from his pocket he brings with them for moments like these. "It's because you have a little something on your face." Of course, it's more than a little something this time. He was right in saying her coordination was off. He curls his fingers around her shoulder still exposed when her dress slipped down a bit and begins to wipe away at the blood.

"Thank you." She coos as moonlight glimmers in her eyes, taking his breath away momentarily. Her talking making it more difficult to wipe precisely causing him to chuckle fondly when he can breathe. When he pulls away she shakes her head as if remembering, "No, that's not it! You… you remind me of Zeldris," she gasps loudly here and wraps her hands around his prompting him to listen closely to her new discovery. "Sir Guard, can you… can you listen to something I want him to hear, _please?"_

"Of course." He gently turns his hands underneath hers so her hands are captured within his. _'What could she possibly want me to hear? She seems so earnest…'_ he watches as she gains a deep concentration, her thin eyebrows knitting together as she seemingly thinks hard about something. Then she relaxes as her mouth opens and the silvery tones he'd heard before hit him full force in a poem determined to make it so that the only thing keeping him tethered is his unsteady hold on her delicate hands.

 _"You are, you are, the one for me._  
 _The one I live for, my demon._  
 _Your danger, your smile, your touch,_  
 _your everything makes me smile._  
 _I am in love with you, Zeldris,_  
 _because together, we're complete."_

She appears so blissful as her lips fall shut revealing yet another talent of hers in such a simple way. The vampire he knew from the moment his eyes landed on her would become precious to him, makes it clear everyday why he loves her, why he'd give his life for her, and do everything he can to keep her happy. It's strange how his face now burns darker than hers as he looks down at their clasped hands, his ears playing her words back again and again, memorizing them with an efficiency known to him. She loves him, is in love with a dark creature like him that'd do anything for her.

A soft yawn breaks him out of his entranced state engulfed by the pressure of his elated hearts and up into the almost shy way her hazy eyes seek approval. "Do you think he'll like it?"

He wraps an arm around her waist becoming her cushion when her head finds the crook of his shoulder, not for the first time and definitely not the last, and murmurs tenderly for her to know, "I think he'll love it."

~.~.~

A pitiful moan bubbles up from her lips as her eyes creak open. Returning to the land of the living has never been so painful before, Gelda feels as she raises a hand to clutch at her throbbing skull determined to crack open and spill its contents. _'What happened?'_ She thinks back to the celebration of Edinburgh and drinking a single glass of extremely aged wine. That's what must have caused the horrendous ache in her skull and sick churning of her guts. But what happened after? She recalls her demeanor changing drastically as the alcohol mingled in her blood like a pleasant bubbling through her veins. _She wanted to go out_. Though her father, only mildly tipsy from his drink, had been against the idea with Gelda being so… _off._

She moans in dismay, turning herself over so that her face is buried into her pillows to muffle the sound as she remembers the way she'd stomped her foot in a way she hadn't even when she'd been a child, petulant in demanding she be let out to hunt. He father had relented, probably not knowing how to handle the drunk vampire and in part from his own buzz. And not long after she'd been taken to…

 _"Oh please no!"_ She lifts a pillow and covers her head as heat pricks every inch of her skin the burn of her embarrassment is so great. _She'd been taken to Zeldris!_ And she hadn't even recognized him! "I said he wasn't as handsome as himself!? How does that even make sense!?" The princess whines into her cocoon of shame, hoping to disappear and never recall a single instance of the evening prior. But it all comes back in stark clarity, her childish antics the demon seemed okay with handling.

She's just beginning to calm with deep slow breaths, wincing in time with her heartbeat as pangs twist through her skull when the end of the evening drifts effortlessly to the forefront of her mind. Her hands lose their grip on the pillow covering her head and she pushes up slightly with tension squeezing the air straight from her lungs. She sang her poem. The poem she worked hard on for hours on end, hummed until she knew it backwards and forwards, the love confession she'd planned to express in a time and place far more romantic than a drunken evening over a dead man's body!

Her hands claw over her face, threatening to make her sick as she trembles and struggles to catch her breath. _"Oh heavens, what did I…!?"_ Just before the pressure in her skull can burst in the form of tears the way his arm settled around her reaches her in a soothing stretch of warmth, his soft admittance brushing through her ears a heartfelt answer to her prayers.

 _"I think he'll love it."_

The guy of her dreams returning her sentiments, even after seeing her in such a childish state... What more could she ask for?

 _Knock! Knock!_

The sudden knocks resounding like drills to her skull is not one of the things on her wish list.

"Her Highness, I bring you a remedy from the palace healer." One of her helper maids informs Gelda as she enters the princess' chamber.

Gelda groans as she pushes her body to sit against her headboard, finding herself still clad in the now rumpled sundress from the day before. When the woman hands Gelda the glass of warm liquid, the blond simply drinks it and sighs heavily once she feels a soothing blanket settle over the throb in her skull dampening it greatly. She turns blue eyes to the ravenette waiting patiently at her bedside and asks quietly. "Did Lord Zeldris bring me here?"

The maid nods with arms crossed at her front. "Yes. Carried you right on up himself."

She hides the way her lips fight to curve up wildly by taking a sip of the muddy brown liquid that sears right down her throat. She lets out a puff of breath as the candlelight in her room flickers in her eyes highlight her forming plan. She'll see him that night for sure, because no matter how ridiculous she behaved before him, he said he'd love her poem sung from the heart.

She wants to hear it straight from his lips without anything influencing her actions but her own heart.

~.~.~

Gelda clings to his arm at his side as they distance themselves from Edinburgh, her expression pensive, the vampire having not said hardly a word to him since they left the gates. His brows draw down as he considers this. Could she be upset with him over something? Does she remember last night and thinks he did something wrong then?

Anxiety washes cold and icy down his spine as he looks down at his boots pressing the grass down beneath them harshly. Should he apologize? He doesn't even hesitate in opening his mouth as he slides his hand down her arm, shakily wrapping their hands together hoping to convey his regret.

But she beats him to it.

"Zeldris, I'm sorry for how I behaved yesterday. I was…" He watches in shock as her expression flinches in a wince and answers begin to come to him about her possible silence.

She remembers…

It's an utter relief and a jet of nerves down his spine all at once, but he squashes it for the moment as he guides them to a stop. He brings a hand to her cheek, his fingers brushing stray hair behind her ear as he smirks sharply. "You were cute and mine to handle."

He's pretty sure she can see the confidence of his words wavering in the flush that rises to his cheeks, but it all pays off in the end when she smiles wide and knowing. "You did not think to tell me who you were?"

A laugh escapes him with hardly any effort mingling with her giggle, and the adoration he feels for her burns right to the surface. "From what I've learned you don't make a happy drunk sad, even I'm not that cruel." He internally cringes at the blatant lie, knowing he's done things infinitely worse than the equivalent to making a drunk cry.

He sighs, then swallows against the shudder of anticipation that buds beneath his skin, knowing that this must be what she's been thinking of all day long, waiting to know for certain, the reason for her silence until now. He peers into her blue eyes as his thumb brushes just behind her ear eliciting a soft shiver from her in the warmth of the evening and quietly tells her, "I don't care if you're the unaffected princess, the strong, blissful girl standing with me now, or the childish drunk from last night. Whatever side of you… show me them all. I'll love them with everything I have." The fierce undertone of his quiet confession surprises even him as he stares unflinching into her eyes rapidly dewing with tears.

Zeldris see the reciprocation building in her throat and can't allow himself to hear it without her knowing that she's making a mistake. "Gelda, you can't… don't say you can love me when you haven't seen how dangerous I can be. You've seen me defend you… but I can be so much worse." He looks away from her stricken expression, insides twisting like the blade of a sword he's run through man and he grounds out, " _So much worse."_

"Zeldris." The snap of her voice is instant and brings his eyes to hers set on him sharply, unyielding, and flooded with such love he feels foolish for even doubting her feelings for a second. "I can choose for myself how I feel. I do recall telling you I want to marry you one day, didn't I?" She reminds him as she presses forward, wrapping him up in her arms as he sighs against her head, feeling his muscles ease of tension as her every curve settles against him. "I'm in love with you. I know what I'm getting myself into, Zeldris…"

The nervous, floundering, fool he usually turns into around her, is somehow quelled by Zeldris, allowing for him to slide his hands around her waist, and lift her in the air to hear her melodic giggles as he twirls her around in a little spin. Gazing up at her with a content grin built solely on the way she makes him feel—happy, elated, overcome with the need to simply have her in his arms—Zeldris smirks up at his dream back dropped by the starlit sky as something akin to mischief flares up in his eyes. She sees it and her fingers curl into his shoulders a warning of his name already falling off of her lips, but he's too strung high from his emotions to give in.

He falls onto his back, taking all off the force of their combined weight with barely a wince as Gelda squeals in surprise. Then he rolls, pinning her beneath him as his lips seek hers. She melts into him like sweet honey, and he rolls her flavor into his mouth with a groan, massaging her lips with his own as his tongue dips into the heat of her taste. She shivers beneath him, arching every divine curve into his body as her fingers work into his hair, her nails grazing his scalp in a maddeningly good way. His hearts begin to pump the rising need through him swiftly making him hyper aware of the soft sighs she breathes down his throat, and the way her thighs wrap like vices around his waist. His kisses become more aggressive as the pressure builds against his skull, his instincts driving him onward, pressing his fingers into the sides of her soft flesh.

She's wonderful, so perfect beneath him as they shift and shudder, awakened to new feelings they've brushed against in the past few weeks. She makes another sound once more, like liquid molten pooling straight to his groin and his thoughts slip further away, only her taste, her touch, her scent mattering to him now. Her other fingers slide along his cheek, her thumb brushing the mark that's pulsing against his skin, the sensation like caressing the beast that lies just under it. Zeldris lets out a throaty growl against her mouth feeling his hips roll up between her legs, his stiff problem meeting the heat forming there as she moans low and wanton.

 _"Shit."_ His mind is jabbed by the frosty realization of his actions as he peels open his eyes to see Gelda staring up at him laid out beneath him, hot and bothered, with eyes trained solely on him to fix it. He struggles to swallow against the dry heat in his throat and turns away from the tempting look in her eyes. "I'm sorry—"

"I've felt it before, Zeldris," She utters in a titillatingly low voice that singes heat across his ears. "It was a surprise the first time, but I've taken lessons… I know what a man and woman _do_ , Zeldris. We're in love. We're going to do this one day."

When he turns back to her, shocked all over again by her, and struggling to rein in his desires, he catches her on her elbows, her lips curved up coyly. "You're the only man who I'll allow to have their way with me."

The images come unbidden in his mind; her bare of any stitch under him, dusted in the sweat of their own creation, flushed in a deep shade of pink, wailing from pleasure from him driving into her again and again—

He sits up entirely, pulling away from her in order to breathe and press the heel of his palm against the mark now scorching against his skull. He has to have better control over himself, damn it!

"Was I too presumptuous in thinking you'd want that?" She asks softer this time, as if his reaction meant he's opposed to the idea.

He looks at her when his hand falls away from the mark spiraled over his left eyebrow and practically gapes at her in astonishment. "More like poking at the beast, asking for him to pounce."

She practically sags in relief before moving over to him in higher spirits. "Oh, you mean like… _this!"_ Her finger pokes his cheek in an all too familiar way that forces laughter out of both of them, easing the tension from them completely. She settles into his arms after their laughter dies down, and he gingerly takes in her scent and the soft way her tresses brush against his cheek. When she sighs her love against the skin of his neck, he curls tighter against her, thinking of her poem and finding it more than true.

 _Together, we're complete._


	10. All That I Can Give You Pt1

A/N: This is lickitysplit, once more imposing on the generous nature and hospitality of the immensely talented BettyBest2. Thank you so much for letting me visit these characters again for a while, and for being so kind and generous to actually allow me to contribute to this story and this universe I love so much. This chapter and part two are both for you, and for all the Zeldris/Gelda fans out there!

* * *

 **-Part 1-**

Night has fallen on Edinburgh, and Zeldris strides through the gates that were opened for him. He heads down the now-familiar corridors towards the main hall where he is due to meet Gelda. A bit of excitement shoots up his spine, and he hurries his pace to the designated spot, anxious to see the vampire that has captured his attention for the past few months.

Ever since they had met when the vampires had visited the demon realm, Gelda had steadily taken over his thoughts and stirred his desires. He had offered to serve as her guard and escort, a job he had eagerly volunteered for if it meant seeing her again. Then as they grew closer, a shy holding of hands and a stolen kiss moving into whispered confessions and increasingly passionate embraces, and now Zeldris can barely go a day without seeing her, the hours ticking by before he can hear her voice or hold her lovely body against his.

They are growing closer, yes, and the demon cannot help the little smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth. Soon he will have Gelda next to him, just as he has been looking forward to all day, her soft voice and sweet laughter and beautiful mouth all his.

But Gelda is not there when he arrives, and he glances curiously at the great clock that hangs in the hall. It's not like her to be late; in fact, he can never recall her doing so before. With an impatient tap of his foot, he looks around, suddenly wondering if he had their meeting place wrong. After another minute or two he stops a servant and asks after the princess. Hearing that she should be in her room, Zeldris quickly strides towards Gelda's chambers, not bothering to ask anyone else to check on her. It feels like it takes much too long to reach the room, and with each step he becomes more and more anxious to get to her.

Zeldris gives her door a brief knock, listening for an answer. None comes, so gently he pushes the door open. His mouth opens in shock and he pushes it completely open, his eyes wide as they roam around the room in completely disarray. Books, papers, pillows, items are strewn over the floor. The bed is nearly upturned as the blankets and pillows are heaped into a pile. The chair to the vanity is knocked over, every drawer opened, even the little ones in the jewelry boxes. Gelda is nowhere to be seen, so the demon carefully picks his way through the chaos, every nerve ending on edge.

His hand goes to his hip, the fingertips dancing on the hilt of the sword hanging from his side. If someone has hurt the princess, he will use everything to make them pay.

"Gelda?" he says quietly into the room, and at once he hears a choking sort of noise. It is coming from the direction of the closet, which has also been flung open, clothes and boxes tossed carelessly on the ground. "Gelda!" he calls out sharply, stepping over an ottoman on its side and kicking a pile of silk scarves out of the way.

Then she appears, and for the second time his mouth drops open in shock. The princess looks to be in just as much of a disarray as the room. It is the first time he has seen her that her hair is not perfectly in place, her dress wrinkled, her face red and puffy from crying. Even the first few times they had kissed, even the night he had snuck into her room and woke her from sleeping, she had never been so disheveled. It is almost terrifying to see her in such a vulnerable state.

His first instinct is to clench his fists, wanting to know who or what did this to her; but then Gelda is launching herself at the demon with a cry. Her arms fly around his neck, her face burying into his chest, and he catches her as a fresh wave of sobs causes her entire frame to shake. Zeldris clenches his jaw painfully as he cradles her closely against him, the muscles in his arms tight with tension. "Gelda, are you alright?" he hisses out through his teeth. "What has happened to you?"

"Oh, Zeldris," she moans. Her face turns to press into the fabric covering his chest. The prince raises a hand to carefully caress the back of her head in comfort. He gives her another minute to cry against him, his hands rubbing on her back and through her hair soothingly, until finally he sweeps the stringy hair from her damp face and tilts her head back to look at him.

"Tell me who did this," he says darkly, ready to fight and hurt someone, make them pay. But Gelda only shakes her head. "I did this, I- oh Zeldris, this is all my fault and-"

She sucks in a tight gasp, her teeth catching her bottom lip as Zeldris frowns. "What did you do?" he asks as he peers closely at her face. "What happened?"

Gelda's chest shudders as she struggles to breathe normally. "I- I lost m-my diary," she whispers.

Zeldris frowns, drawing back a bit. All this, over a _diary_? "Gelda," he says gently, releasing the tight hold he has around her, "I'm sure that-"

"You don't understand!" Her hands ball into tight fists as they slide down to his chest. "I need to find it! I write about everything, Zeldris. I even… I wrote about _us_." This last bit comes out like a whisper, as if someone could actually be listening.

His blood runs a bit cold as he thinks of what she could have written. Their first meeting, the kiss at his father's castle, his theft of the horses, the whispered promises… then his mind wanders to the night he snuck into her room, all the nights _since_ , the vow to court her without permission from the king, the increasingly passionate moments that they had shared every time they were together…

If anyone reads and learns about their relationship, both he and Gelda will be in more than just trouble. This has the potential hurt the very alliance between their clans. He was supposed to be escorting the princess and acting as her guard, not romancing her. Even the already thin hope that Izraf could ever give his only daughter and heir to _him_ would be snatched away.

The horror must show on his face because Gelda whimpers and buries her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry! I don't know how… I've barely gone anywhere, I would never just leave it out…"

Her renewed crying catches his attention, and Zeldris presses his lips together. "We'll find it," he says firmly. "I'm here to help you."

With a quick sweep of his eyes around the room, the demon then strides to the door and flings it open. "Get in here!" he shouts into the dark hallway, and within moments several servants and Gelda's ladies-in-waiting are scrambling inside, looking just as shocked as he at the mess. "The princess has lost something dear to her," he bellows at them, and the vampires all snap to attention at the sound. "You are to put this room back in order, while searching every inch of it, do you understand?"

They cower under the threat contained in his voice, but before Zeldris can make good on the threat he feels Gelda's hand on his arm. "Thank you," she says to the servants. "It's a notebook, with a brown leather cover. Please, I need it back."

With another barking order from Zeldris the servants get to work. Carefully they replace all of her belongings while they search, taking care to fix the room and the furniture while going over every inch. Gelda stands by the door watching with watery eyes as the demon supervises the work; but no journal is uncovered by the time they are finished.

The demon dismisses them all but her ladies. Gelda sits heavily in a chair, her hands twisting nervously, but Zeldris turns his attention on the girls who are Gelda's closest servants. "Where did Her Highness go today?" he demands.

Two of them are on either side of the princess, trying to soothe her, but the third looks at him with a nervous but steady stare. "Nowhere, my lord," she answers evenly. "Her Highness only took a brief walk, but had nothing with her."

"Who else would be in here?" he asks.

The girl shakes her head. "Only the tutor, my lord. Her Highness had a lesson today. Languages and history."

Zeldris darts his eyes to the princess, who looks miserable. "Leave," he commands, and after only a second of hesitation the three quickly exit the room.

"Gelda," he says, "is it possible-"

"I don't know," she says, cutting him off as she stands. "I didn't have the book out when he was here but-I suppose it could have gotten mixed up-"

"Where can I find this tutor?" Without even waiting for an answer he is already heading for the door, but Gelda hurries forward to put herself between him and the exit.

"Wait, please!" she cries, stopping him with her palms pressed on his chest. "What are you going to do?"

Zeldris looks down at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm going to find him and get your diary back."

The threat in his tone is as natural as breathing, the instinct to find the enemy and make him pay bleeding into his voice and his face without even trying. But then he sees the change in Gelda the moment it happens: the way her breath catches in her throat, the slight rounding of her eyes, the way her lips part. It's so small, it would be hardly noticeable; but Zeldris had memorized every inch of her face, can read her every thought. Plus, he had seen enough people look at him with fear to recognize it when he saw it. Zeldris can feel his demon mark pulsing, and quickly swallows, smoothing away the menace that must be in his expression, but it is too late.

Scaring Gelda was something he had never intended to do; despite his demon nature he had always been gentle and respectful and protective. He thinks back on the night that he had pulled her away from an aggressive suitor and flattened him with one punch, and even _then_ she had not looked at him this way.

Deliberately, slowly, he says, "It'll be alright, Gelda. I'm going to protect you. It's… it's what I'm here for."

"What are you going to do?" she whispers.

Zeldris does not answer, but sweeps past her and out the door. He hears Gelda following, and over his shoulder he says, "You should stay here."

"No," she replies, her voice unusually bitter. "It's my mistake. Besides, you don't know where you are going."

He could hardly argue with that, and was always loathe to deny her, so with her hand tightly grasped in his they walk together down the dark and quiet hallways. Zeldris allows her to lead him towards the gates, and when they catch sight of the guard instinctively they break apart. The demon keeps a hand on her back as they walk past the soldiers, scowling at them as they nod and open the gates.

They make their way along the wide dirt path that leads from the main part of the castle, and when they are out of earshot he says to the princess, "The tutor does not live here?"

"He does," she answers, giving him a bit of a devilish look over her shoulder. "But I thought it would be best for the guard to think we had left."

Zeldris cannot help but raise an eyebrow, a bit impressed with her thinking; he would have just barrelled straight to the tutor's quarters without any worry of what someone would think or say. "Do you sneak around often?" he asks with a bit of a snort, but another flash of her smile at him gives him pause.

"This way," whispers Gelda, and she grabs his hand and takes off at a run. They head into the night, hidden by the shadow of the castle, whose towers keep the moon from shining and revealing their location. Zeldris' eyes can see easily in the dark, and once more he is impressed by the easy way she maneuvers over the rolling and rocky terrain. The eastern side of the castle drops off into a cliff, but Gelda expertly leads him along a path that presses nearly against the stone wall and keeps them hidden from view as they secretly make their way back to the Edinburgh stronghold.

"Where are we going?" he mutters at her, trying to watch her where her footsteps land while keep his own footing. The fall looks precarious enough to give an unfortunate victim at the very least a nasty set of broken bones; but Gelda only hikes up the bottom of her dress to climb up a piece of hard earth that juts out from the side of the rock. "There is an entrance back inside," she mutters, smoothing her hand along the wall. "It will help us avoid…"

"This is dangerous, let's just go back," Zeldris insists. He reaches out to take her by the waist when she suddenly yelps, sending a flash of fear through his chest. "Here it is!" she cries, and then disappears into the stone.

Zeldris blinks, his brows drawing down even deeper, when a hand grabs his own and yanks him forward. Once inside, his eyes adjust to the pitch blackness, and his senses immediately ignite as Gelda presses against him. Her hand slides up his arm, and he feels her breath against the side of his neck as her lips brush on his ear. "We're inside the wall," whispers the girl.

He turns his face a bit, their foreheads brushing together. "How often do you do this?" he cannot help but ask, his eyes widening when he sees her head and shoulders dip a bit with a stifled giggle.

"Not as often as I'd like," she responds, her whispered words flirtatious, and now her lips graze his temple. Zeldris skims his nose and mouth over her cheek and down her neck. His hands find her hips in the dark, and all at once his blood is rushing, his hearts racing, wanting to kiss her, wanting to taste this princess that still manages to surprise him and capture his imagination.

"We must be quiet," breathes Gelda, her words barely audible. Zeldris nods, and instead of kissing her, he brings his own mouth to her ear. He opens his lips to say something, but suddenly he is struck dumb. Trying desperately to think of something, _anything_ , to say to flirt back with her, he is glad for the darkness to hide the blushing heat on his neck and cheeks. Why must he always be so damn tongue tied around her?

After a moment, then another, and another, Gelda turns. His hands fall away from her hips, but she grabs one with one of her own, their fingers weaving together.

Zeldris calls on his years of training, the service and the assignments and the growing responsibilities that have fallen on him in recent months all coming in useful now. He knows how to move undetected, he knows how to find an enemy and extract information. This is what he has been taught; it is what he was made to do. Of course, he had never thought he would be calling on the hundreds of lessons to find a lost diary, but his own future as well as Gelda's is in peril without it. So he focuses intently in the dark, allowing the hunter side of him to dictate his movements. This is another task, perhaps his most important one, and he will not fail. Zeldris does not know failure.

After walking in silence for a while, Gelda stops. "I think this is it," she says, and then pushes on a certain stone. It moves, making a small hole in the wall, and the princess peeks out before slipping through. Zeldris follows immediately, blinking for a moment in the dimly lit hallway.

He turns and looks at Gelda, who nods to the left. "The vampires who work for the royal family live in this wing."

Zeldris' eyes dart up, following the length of the hallway. Without looking back at her he orders, "Stay here," and walks past her and around the dark corner.

The corridor is lined with heavy wooden doors. Slowly he walks, his heavy boots making a soft sound as he takes one careful step after another. Which room? Choosing the wrong one could possibly sound an alarm of some kind. Although Zeldris is not opposed to killing, he would prefer _not_ to leave a trail of bodies in Gelda's father's house.

At that thought, he hesitates. What is the plan, exactly? Kill the tutor and search his room? Demand the diary? Use his magic to incapacitate him? Zeldris curses under his breath. He has not thought this through, and now here he is, in a part of the castle he is _not_ supposed to be in, the princess just steps away, ready to be discovered at any moment. His hearts race with his indecision. His brothers would not make such a mistake. They would not hesitate, their stomachs churning, looking from door to door and wondering what to do.

"It's that one," a soft voice says, shattering his concentration and making him jump a mile. Even though he instantly recognizes Gelda's voice, his training overrides his reason and he whirls, drawing his weapon. Gelda sucks in a deep breath but does not flinch or step away. Instantly he pulls back, swinging the sword behind him and reaching out with a hand towards her. "Gelda, I'm sorry, you startled me and I-"

Her eyes are wide and bright, her skin a bit pale, but she holds firm. "It's fine, Zeldris," she says, but he notes that Gelda does not move closer. Instead she nods towards a door. "It's that one."

She will not meet his gaze, but he notices the slight tremble to her frame, the way her shoulders are tensed. Damn it all, he has scared her again, and angrily he turns and moves towards the door. The latch and lock buckle under his strength, allowing him to push it open easily.

Then Gelda is there, stepping before him again. "Let me handle this," she says quietly before rapping on the door.

Impatiently Zeldris pushes inside, but allows Gelda to come with him. The room is quiet and bathed in candlelight. There is a small bed on one side, a small fireplace, a table with two chairs, and a writing desk. It is at the desk that a very startled vampire looks up, and Zeldris' eyes land on him.

He slams the door closed before turning back to the tutor. He is younger than Zeldris had expected, and the demon notes his simple but well-tailored clothing and the lack of weapons. The room is filled with piles of books and papers, the table with its own stack, the desk an organized clutter of documents. "Your Highness?" the vampire stutters out, rising to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sir," she answers. "I think my journal may have gotten mixed up in your things this afternoon, and I need it back, desperately."

"Your journal?" he says with a frown. "No, I don't believe so."

"May I look?" she asks, moving towards the books on the table.

The vampire agrees, and even assists the princess in her search. They check every pile, but the notebook does not reveal itself; dejectedly Gelda hangs her head and turns to Zeldris. "We should go. I'm sorry for disturbing you this late hour-"

"He's lying," Zeldris says, and both vampires freeze in their tracks. The prince grits his teeth as he looks at the tutor with a murderous scowl. "He has it somewhere. He lies."

Gelda gasps, spinning around quickly to look at the tutor, who is now blustering as he turns a shade of red. "How dare you! How dare-"

"You have something that belongs to the princess," says Zeldris, taking a few steps inside the room. He raises his chin, narrowing his eyes as he peers at the tutor closely. "I want it back."

"I've never taken anything from their Majesties!" the vampire insists in an indignant voice. "Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care _what_ you are," growls Zeldris. "It's a little book, with a brown leather cover. It is written in Her Highness' own hand. I want that book. Give it to me. _Now_."

A moment passes between them. The tutor's eyes are wide with shock… and then his face relaxes as something occurs to him. A smile forms over his face, and Zeldris can feel contempt for the vampire growing before he even opens his mouth to speak. "You must be Zeldris," he says. "The princess' little… friend."

Hearing his name sends a chill up his spine. His demon mark grows hot as he stares down the vampire. "You don't know _anything_ about me. If you did, you wouldn't dare play this game."

The tutor's smile widens a bit. "I think I know plenty. You're the son of the demon king, right? The _third_ son. Don't presume to intimidate _me_."

Zeldris growls. His skin feels like little pops of electricity, the urge to tear this creature that dares to speak to him that way into pieces dancing inside of his mind, as it has been ingrained for years and years. But even now he is aware of Gelda. Her reaction to him is all he cares for, and he keeps the memory of her frightened look from earlier in his mind's eye so he does not destroy the vampire.

But then the tutor makes a mistake that seals his fate. He turns and sneers at the princess. "I know all about you, my charge, and what you've been up to with _him_. Now if you don't want me to go to the king with this information, then you'll-"

His threat is cut off with a blur of movement. Moments later the tutor hits the floor, his eyes wide in horror and his mouth gaping in silent pain. Zeldris stands over him with one hand gripping his sword, and the vampire's severed arm in the other. "That was for daring to threaten the princess."

His voice is cold, colder than ice, not containing one ounce of emotion. He is now the soldier and the demon that is his very nature, uncaring of the consequence. Zeldris is aware of everything in that moment: the squeak of surprise from Gelda, the way her hands clutch the front of her dress, the staggered breathing of the vampire at his feet, the fear rolling off of the tutor in waves. But still he is cold, despite the adrenaline and the anger boiling in his veins, and the bloodlust now stirred from his action.

"Don't speak a word, you lying filth," the prince continues. "Just use your remaining hand to point to where the book is hidden, and I'll consider allowing you to keep it."

The princess hisses his name, but the vampire listens, rising his shaking and bloody arm up to point at a drawer in his desk. Without a word Zeldris tosses the arm to the floor and steps over his body. He yanks the drawer open and pulls out the coveted book, seething as his hand traces the faded leather.

Without a sound he grabs Gelda by the arm and pulls her behind him. They exit the room without a glance towards the tutor still on the floor and the demon leads them through the hallways, not stopping or speaking until they have climbed the steps to her chambers. Once inside he shuts the door and finally lets go of her arm, striding over to the window.

Outside it is dark, peaceful, the stars sitting the black sky. A beautiful, serene night, one he would have enjoyed with Gelda. But that is impossible now, not with the way he feels _now_ , like a storm about to strike. Not with the gruesome act he just committed, however justified it was. Zeldris looks down at the diary in his hands. Such a small thing, but it is safe again, and he supposes he must be glad at least for that. Even if getting it meant he had to reveal a part of himself he never, ever wanted Gelda to see.

A feeling of revulsion comes over him. He is a demon and a killer. One day he will be the executioner for the king. A severed arm is an act of mercy for one such as he. But all he feels is hot shame, and her eyes on him.

A small hand presses on his back, and without even a glance over his shoulder he holds out the book. "Take it," he says thickly. "I'll take my leave now."

She does, gratefully. Zeldris can still feel the pulsing anger, the leftover desire to destroy something that comes with answering any threat to what is his. He needs to go and get it out of his system, and quickly. But Gelda's other hand tugs on his sleeve, and a moment later she is pressed against him, her lips crushing onto his.

Zeldris is taken by surprise, and when Gelda tosses the book away in favor of plunging her hands into his hair, he can barely keep up with the forcefulness of her kiss. Finally he shakes himself and kisses her back, wrapping his arms around her to hold her tightly. Their lips and tongues are searing and searching, and Zeldris eagerly gives himself over to the passion that flares up suddenly between them. He is barely aware of how his hands slide over her, or the soft moans that escape them both, or even when he turns and presses her against the wall. All he knows is the pounding of his blood and the taste of her lips and her soft skin under his hands, the adrenaline driving him to take and take and _take_.

A small whimper snaps him from the rush, and Zeldris pulls back to find Gelda pinned against him. Her lips are swollen and wet, her fingers digging into his upper arms, and his eyes travel down her face and neck lustfully. But before he can take another kiss, she arches against him, and he realizes his hands are under her blouse, the buttons pulled apart. His palms are covering her breasts, and in his stupor he squeezes her flesh impulsively.

"Oh Zeldris," she breathes. Gelda's hands go to the back of his neck, pulling him down into another kiss and pressing her body into his hands.

She licks his lips, her teeth catching his bottom one a bit, but Zeldris is frozen. First he had revealed the dangerous side to his demon nature, and now he is pawing at her like some kind of savage! He pulls his mouth away and turns his head, and the princess trails her lips down his neck, her breath hot as she pants against him. "I'm sorry," he stammers, but he is reluctant to let go of her, the new sensation of being skin to skin tantalizing. Tentatively he strokes her nipples with his thumbs, and Gelda shivers against him, pressing a hot kiss under his chin.

His heart is pounding still, but now for a different reason; the kiss has drained the brutality from him, but is now replaced with an undeniable desire, just as dark and fierce. Shakily he slides his hands down, releasing the round flesh, grazing along her sides.

But Gelda looks up at him with a sweet smile that is utterly charming and seductive. "Don't be sorry," she murmurs, and her arms wrap around his neck so she can pull him into a tight hug. "You saved me," the princess says. "You saved both of us."

"I took his arm off," Zeldris said, immediately feeling stupid for saying that; but her cool lips press on his feverish cheek, smoothing away his chagrin.

"You did," Gelda answers with a little laugh. "But you did it for me. You were amazing."

"I was not," he insists. "I never wanted you to see-I don't want you to know me like that-"

"Shhh," she whispers, her thumbs brushing on his cheeks. Zeldris' hands, still inside her shirt, slide around her back to pull her closer. "I know who you are." Their eyes meet, and the demon's breath catches as he sees that her eyes are filled with adoration, and to his relief, free of fear.

Her caress is soothing, and he presses his forehead on hers. She has seen him, and she still wants him, and to Zeldris that is all that matters. He knows there will be a consequence in the morning, for him or for both of them; but for now, knowing Gelda is safe is enough.


	11. All That I Can Give You Pt2

I just want to thank lickitysplit for writing these two wonderful snippets! I adore her taking interest in my odd universe I've created for teen Gelda and Zeldris and I'm just so happy she feels compelled to take part from time to time.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **-Part 2-**

For three days, Zeldris waits. No word from Gelda comes, no news from Edinburgh, and the demon prince is so on edge that when he hears his name, he nearly chokes.

"Zeldris!" Meliodas snaps. "What the hell are you doing?"

The young prince blinks, coming back to himself. They stand in the armory, and Zeldris looks in confusion at the master armorer, who is holding out a sword towards him. "Is this not to Your Highness' liking?" the demon asks with a bit of a growl.

Zeldris quickly nods and takes the offered weapon. He is there with his brother, who had insisted he get a new one when he observed Zeldris' new technique. After reading the story Gelda had made for him, he had decided to try on his own to develop the strength and speed to sever a limb with one strike. It had taken months before he had perfected it.

Meliodas had been impressed, something the demon had not thought was truly possible. With a devilish grin he had proclaimed that such a technique needed a sword with a bit more curve, and collected him in the afternoon to take him for a new weapon.

"Your nights at Edinburgh are making you soft," Meliodas scolds. Zeldris' eyes dart up to look at his brother. "Tell that Izraf that he needs to get off his ass and find his own guard for his daughter."

"I'm fine," Zeldris insists, turning his wrist to try out the hilt, but Meliodas goes on, "It's a waste of time for you to be going there every other night. What kind of vampire can't take care of herself, anyway? If that princess can't hunt on her own, she deserves whatever she gets."

He stiffens at the callousness of his brother's words, sneaking another glance over. Zeldris is momentarily worried that he will be ordered not to protect Gelda any longer, but Meliodas is looking at a collection of metals on the armorer's workbench, already bored of the conversation. He lets go a breath of relief and swings the weapon, unable to help the smile on his face. The width of the blade, with the hooked point, will be much more efficient than the longsword he had been using. Not that it had hindered him when he had taken off the arm of Gelda's tutor…

The memory of the act sends a sudden chill through him. That bastard had deserved exactly what he had gotten for daring to steal from the princess and then threaten and insult her. His fingers clench on the hilt as he thinks of how he should have taken his head.

Maybe if he had taken his head, he would have heard something, anything by now. But no word had come from Gelda or from Edinburgh. No summons to accompany her. No note from the princess. No angry message from the king, demanding his own head.

There is a movement behind him, and his instincts kick in as he spins with the sword. Metal clashes against metal with a loud clang, and Zeldris manages to stop his brother's strike before it can land and possibly cut him in two. Meliodas gives a humorless laugh and steps back before charging, swiping again and again, forcing Zeldris to defend himself with the sword. The demon's moves are too fast to allow Zeldris to go on offense, but his arms and fingers feel surer with each stroke in the air.

Finally Meliodas steps back again. "This is much better," he says.

The complement, as vague as it is, still makes his insides surge with pride. "It is," he replies, trying to sound as noncommittal as his older brother.

"Where did you get the idea for that technique, anyway?" asks Meliodas as he hands his weapon to the armorer.

Zeldris immediately feels heat on his neck. There is _no way_ he can tell Meliodas the truth, that it came from a vampire legend. He imagines the look on his brother's face when he tells him the princess of Edinburgh made him a storybook. Death would be welcome to _that_.

"The porter had moved too slowly opening the gates and it took me three swings to take off his arm," Zeldris answers. "I decided that was too much work to kill a servant."

He is glad to hear a snort come from the blonde. "Fair enough," Meliodas replies, and to Zeldris' relief, the matter is dropped.

His anxiety returns as the rest of the day wears on without word from Edinburgh. This is the longest he has gone without seeing Gelda, and as he debates after dinner to go and see her for himself, the long awaited summons comes. The prince practically flies to his room to get his things, strapping the new sword to his waist before hurrying to the portal that will bring him back into Britannia.

The sight of the gates are a welcome and troubling image as he approaches. The doors are opened for him as always, the castle as dark as usual. Zeldris debates as to whether to go to her room, but decides to head towards their usual meeting place in the courtyard first.

She is there, and his heart leaps to see that she is safe. Zeldris had refused to imagine her being punished for his decision, that she had been harmed and that was why she had not sent for him. Gelda looks up at him with a large smile, standing and gazing at him through her soft lashes, every inch of her an absolute delight. "Zeldris," she says happily. "You came so quickly!"

He stops just a few inches from her, wanting to grab her up but aware that eyes could be watching. "You've been-well?" he stutters out, looking her over closely.

With another bright smile she nods, and then they turn and walk towards the exit as they have on dozens upon dozens of nights before. Neither speak as they take the familiar path; Zeldris wants to take her hand but everything feels suddenly unsure.

The silence grows more and more awkward the longer it lasts. Gelda looks at him with shy smiles and expectant eyes, but he is nothing but nerves as they head towards a village in eastern Britannia. It is easy to find a young woman for her meal, and Zeldris waits respectfully as she finishes, scanning the area for any threats as the princess completes her task. Afterwards, as they head back towards Edinburgh, Zeldris can sense that she is waiting for him to do something. Ordinarily they would walk with their hands entwined, or he would offer an arm, or perhaps they would spy a private place to exchange a few passionate kisses. But this heavy silence feels impossible to break, and weighs on his chest as the old vampire stronghold finally comes back into view.

Finally, it is Gelda who stops him with a hand on his arm. He looks at her warily, wondering what it is he can do or say; but then she smiles up at him. "I need to thank you again, Zeldris," she says quietly. "What you did the other day-"

"Let's just forget that," he interrupts. He is still not sure that revealing the killer side of him was a good idea, no matter how necessary it was.

She nods. "All right, then. Just know that everything is fine now."

His eyebrows raise in curiosity. "How can you know that?"

"Because he's gone." Her giggle surprises him, and Gelda covers her mouth with her hand. "The next day he was gone. My father was angry, seeing it as a slight, but I convinced him not to pursue it because I didn't like him anyway." The hand that still lay delicately on his arm presses reassuringly around his elbow. "So there is no need to worry. Our secret is safe."

"Our secret," he echoes. Zeldris raises a hand to capture a lock of her hair that hangs against her cheek, and he is hit by a wave of _wrongness_. There should be no secrets. Gelda is a princess, an heir; her station is actually higher than his, her wealth and power and name more valuable than the third son of a king. The truth is heavy on his shoulders. He wants to protect her, to have her as his own… they are still young but he _knows_ this with every inch of him. But what can he give her, except for his demon self? What does he have except for a worthless title and the ability to hurt others?

His stomach sinks as he looks at her, the fear he had experienced during the previous three days turning sour inside of him. Their relationship had put them both in jeopardy, still does in fact. The princess had been reduced to sneaking between walls and witnessing a brutal act, because of him.

His name calls him back from these dangerous thoughts. "Zeldris, can you come to my room tonight?" she whispers, and despite the twisting inside of him, he finds himself nodding yes.

The silence returns as they walk back into the castle, and she gives him a last lovely smile before disappearing inside. Zeldris stands watching for a long moment, his chest thudding in anticipation. He should go and return to his own place, but Gelda is waiting for him.

A short while later he is at her window, climbing in as he has done before. The room is lit with candles, and he swallows slowly to see her in the warm light. Again comes the twist inside of him, and all he can think of is how he does not deserve her.

"Gelda," he says, cringing at how strained his voice is. But she is moving, wrapping her arms around him, her lips pressing along the side of his face. "I'm so sorry," she whispers against his skin.

"Sorry?" he asks, and Gelda nods. "I put you in such a terrible position, and you risked so much-"

"I'd do anything for you," interrupts the demon. Gelda freezes against him, and he slides one hand reassuringly along her back. "Don't you know that by now? I don't care what I would have to do." He can feel her breath rushing from her as she sighs. "I thought you-I thought I had frightened you. I thought you had-reconsidered, after what happened-"

Gelda giggles, shaking her head, and the sound soothes the knot inside of him. The tension begins to untangle as her fingers graze his neck. "I was scared, yes, but not of you. I thought you would be safer away from Edinburgh for a few days." Her eyes glance down at the floor. "And then… what happened afterwards…"

Zeldris clears his throat, pulling his hand away from where it rests against the curve of her back. "That was-I didn't-"

She laughs again, pressing him closer. Then her lips press against the corner of his mouth. He turns towards the feeling, his eyes closing, and at once it is slow and sweet, exactly the way she always is, the way they can be together. This time, instead of the desire flaring hot and overwhelming, it burns slower, deeper, and their bodies press together, their arms tightening around one another.

Gelda positively steals his breath away, especially as the princess grows bolder in her movements. Her hands slide down his chest, and to his surprise she begins to unbutton his shirt. Her tongue slides into his mouth, and he can barely stand it as her fingertips graze his bare skin as the shirt is slowly pulled open. Surely she can hear the pounding of his blood, feel the perspiration that now dots his skin. His lungs shudder when she finishes and her fingers slide over the tense abdominal muscles.

"Are you okay?" she whispers, and Zeldris realizes he has not been breathing. Shakily he lets go of the air trapped in his chest and nods.

Her lips trail down his neck, and then they press against his chest, barely touching him as she glides along the curve of muscle. They are like little sparks, he decides, her lips unbelievably soft. The tips of her fingers graze along his sides, and the demon stands still, allowing her to do whatever she wishes.

She pulls at the hem of his shirt, and Zeldris assists her by flinging it off hastily. Her laugh brings another burn of embarrassed heat to his neck-why is he _still_ fumbling with her, after all this time?-and for good measure he unbuckles the scabbard that hangs low on his hips. "I just got this today," he says to her proudly, but then clamps his mouth shut, thinking that was a ridiculous thing to say in this moment. As if a princess would be impressed with such a thing.

But Gelda smiles at him again, reaching out to take the weapon. Her fingers move along the hilt appreciatively. "It's nice," she replies, and carries it over to the bedside table, laying it down gently.

Now Zeldris feels truly ludicrous, standing there bare chested, wondering what to do next. But Gelda reassures him as always when she turns and holds out her hand, and gratefully he walks over to her, sitting when she pulls him down to the side of the bed.

Her palm is warm as she slides it along his arm and down his chest. As Zeldris studies her face and the small smile on her mouth, his eyes lower to the swell of her chest. He remembers the feeling of her flesh in his hands, the whimper that absolutely set him on _fire_ as he squeezed her, the tantalizing way her nipple had hardened from his touch. It's almost unbearable how much he wants it again, so he leans down and kisses her once more, taking the lead this time.

Minutes tick by as their mouths move together, the air growing thick with anticipation. The only sound is their heavy breathing, and Zeldris has her pressed against the bed, halfway on top of her, when he moves his hand up from her waist to palm her breast. Gelda gives a little gasp, and he hesitates for the moment, his mind turning as he wonders what she is thinking. But to his relief she arches into his touch, and her own hand leaves where it grips his back to cover his. The princess pulls her lips from his for a moment, licking them as she squeezes her fingers over his.

"Can I take off your dress?" he asks suddenly, the words coming out in a rush.

There is a tiny pause, and then Gelda asks in return, "Can we take out the lights?"

Zeldris is moving instantly, blowing out the candles, nearly stumbling over his own feet. When there is only the soft silver moonlight remaining, Gelda stands next to the bed with her dress removed. All that remains on her body is a thin petticoat and a silk camisole. Her fingers twist together nervously, her teeth catching her lower lip in a way that sends a jolt of pleasure up his spine.

When they climb on the bed together, there is a tight feeling between them, both a bit hesitant. Zeldris kicks off his boots as he slides back up against the pillows. He watches as she pulls up her skirt, following behind, and when his back hits the headboard she climbs over his lap and straddles his hips. The look in her eyes is one of excitement and desire, the soft weight of her on his lap turning the stirring of his body into a dull ache. With wide eyes he watches, fascinated, as she pulls down the thin straps of her camisole.

Warmth pools low in his core when she is finally bare from the waist up, her hair a bit tousled from pulling the fabric over her head. Gelda blinks at him expectantly, but Zeldris cannot take his eyes away from the prize that is her body being offered to him. His mouth goes dry as he raises up shaking palms to slide over the tiny waist and smooth stomach before finally coming to rest along the bottom curves of her breasts. He can feel the heat of her skin and the way her body arches a bit towards him, and the demon can barely form a thought, his mind a swirl of anticipation.

Gelda breaks through the fog by leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Zeldris, I want you to," she whispers. His hands twitch as her fingers slip around his wrists, and she tugs gently until his palms cover her breasts. The demon swallows nervously, wanting to pleasure her, wanting to hear her make the little sighs she had made the last time, so slowly he begins to knead her flesh, shivering as he can feel the skin under his palms pucker and harden.

With a breathless giggle the princess leans her face down towards his and kisses him softly, but the feeling of skin against skin sparks something inside of him and causes the demon to nearly devour her kiss. She gasps into his mouth as his lips move aggressively against hers, his tongue demanding, and then finally she gives the whimpering moan that he has been nearly dying to hear. The sound takes a hold of his senses and Zeldris lets himself sink into the overwhelming lust of kissing her, feeling her.

She is making little cries with every pull of his mouth and squeeze of his hands, the sound driving him nearly mad with _want_. Somewhere inside of his mind he tugs his demon side back, just in time before the mark on his brow can go from a warmth under his skin to a full, blazing fire. But then her fingers pull on his hair, one hand digging nails into the back of his neck, and the spark of pain snaps a part of his restraint. With a grunt he pulls his mouth away from hers and kisses down her neck hungrily, pulling at the little spot on her shoulder that makes her squeal in delight. His hands grip her hard once more before they slide around her, pressing her towards him, and one plunges into her hair to pull her head back.

Zeldris pauses just for a second, brushing his nose down the valley between her breasts, breathing in the soft scent of her soap and smiling at how her body is trembling. She is just as affected as he, and the relief he feels at this urges him on. He drags his mouth over one breast, kissing her body wetly, before wrapping his lips around one hard nipple.

The sound that escapes her, surprise and pleasure and begging all wrapped into one, sends a jolt of need down his spine. Zeldris sucks on her body, rolling his tongue around the sensitive nub, causing Gelda to squirm in his lap and tug on him even harder. The way her body moves against him, the little pinpricks of pain from her nails digging into him, causes his body to tighten. He had already been growing longer and harder with the sight of her body; knowing he is pleasuring her is throwing him into a whirlwind of harsh desire.

Her hips wiggle as she fidgets, her thighs pressing tightly around his, and instinctively he rocks his hips upwards. The tightness in his groin is on just this side of agony, and with a moan he lets go of her flesh, pausing for a moment just to rub up against her. Zeldris presses his hot, flushed face against her chest, his hands tightening around her hips to hold her steady as he slowly scrapes the length of him against her thighs.

"Zeldris… please…" she moans, her head falling back, and her palm presses urgently against the back of his head. Eagerly he moves to take the other nipple in his mouth now, rolling and sucking on it with a slow, steady rhythm that matches the rolling of his hips and the sighs which escape the princess. It's so good, she is so good and perfect and sexy that he cannot stop his hands as they grip her rear and pull her down against him. Gelda gasps as the center of her now sits squarely over the bulging fabric.

He tells himself to stop, to fight the urge, and only the clothing that still covers both of their lower bodies keeps him from pulling her thighs wide and sinking himself into her heat. Zeldris thrusts upwards one last time and lets go of her nipple, his tongue pressing out to lick her a handful of times. It's enough, he has had enough, and if he doesn't stop now he will _lose_ it.

Then to his horror and excitement she rolls her hips, pressing down against his own. Even with the heavy fabric of his trousers and the fabric of her petticoat and underclothes he swears he can feel her heat and her wetness and suddenly the spark ignites. With a cry he falls back, pumping his hips up to rock against her, and Gelda leans over him with a surprised laugh, her delicious body falling into his vision. Her breasts sway enticingly over him, and then the rapture hits. Zeldris feels his body pulsing and his skin burning in embarrassment and ecstasy as the release crashes over him like a wave. His pants are instantly damp as his pleasure shoots from him with force, and he groans with the feeling of the sensitive head scraping on the fabric, now slick and sticky with the mess he has just made.

Zeldris pants with shuddering breaths, his head swimming. The euphoria of kissing Gelda and finally seeing and feeling her body is shattered, and all that is left for the demon is humiliation. His ears burn as Gelda rocks on him again, experimentally, and the sensation sends another jolt of confusion through his recovering body. "Gelda, stop- p-please," he stammers. He realizes he is still gripping her backside and quickly pulls his hands away, tugging the petticoat back down to cover her.

The fire in his groin has now cooled considerably, and he shifts uncomfortably under her. He shudders as her hands slide down his sides, and despite his deep embarrassment and fear at what she will think, the fact they are chest to chest registers and threatens to dull his senses again. Zeldris pushes that away and stammers out an apology.

But the princess is laughing, and she gives him little pecks between giggles. "Wow, Zeldris, I never saw that before," she says in awe, and then sits up in his lap. She is a vision of beauty, her hair mussed and her nipples still pert, her bare skin glowing in the moonlight, her eyes crinkled with her huge smile. "I'm glad I could make you… well, make you happy."

Zeldris releases a harsh laugh, his heart stuttering a bit with the flush of relief. He wonders if he will ever convince her that he is more than happy… or if he will ever manage to make her feel the same. It's the least he can give her.


End file.
